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What overweight women want from a weight loss app : a qualitative study on Arabic women

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Alnasser, Aroub Abdulaziz, Alkhalifa, Abdulrahman Saleh, Sathiaseelan, Arjuna and Marais, Debbi (2015) What overweight women want from a weight loss app : a qualitative study on Arabic women. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 3 (2). e41. doi:10.2196/mhealth.4409

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.4409

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Abstract

Background: Overweight and obesity are international public health issues. With mobile and app use growing globally, the development of weight loss apps are increasing along with evidence that interventions using technology have been effective in the treatment of obesity. Although studies have been conducted regarding what content health professionals would recommend within weight loss apps, there are limited studies that explore users’ viewpoints. There is specifically a paucity of research that takes the cultural background of the user into consideration, especially in Middle Eastern countries where the lives and weight loss intervention needs of women not only vary vastly from the West, but the obesity rate is also increasing exponentially.
Objective: The current study sought to explore the proposed features of an Arabic weight loss app by seeking the experiences and opinions of overweight and obese Saudi Arabian users in order to design a mobile phone app to fit their needs.
Methods: Focus group discussions were conducted with a purposive sample of volunteer overweight and obese Saudi women (BMI ≥ 25) who were older than 18 years and who owned a mobile phone. The most common Arabic and English weight loss mobile apps were downloaded to initiate dialogue about app usage and to get their opinions on what an ideal weight loss app would look like and the features it would include. All transcribed, translated discussions were thematically analyzed, categorized for each of the main topics of the discussion, and specific quotations were identified.
Results: Four focus groups were conducted with a total of 39 participants. Most participants owned an Android mobile phone and only a few participants were aware of the availability of health-related apps. Barriers to weight loss were identified including: motivation, support (social and professional), boring diets, customs, and lifestyle. Diverse themes emerged as suggestions for an ideal weight loss app including: Arabic language and culturally sensitive; motivational support and social networking; dietary and physical activity tools; and a tailorable, user-friendly interface.
Conclusions: This study identifies weight loss app features from the users’ perspective, which should be considered in the development of a weight loss app for this population.

Item Type: Journal Article
Divisions: Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School > ( - July 2016) Health Education Hub
Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School
Journal or Publication Title: JMIR mHealth and uHealth
Publisher: JMIR Publications
ISSN: 2291-5222
Official Date: April 2015
Dates:
DateEvent
April 2015Published
Volume: 3
Number: 2
Page Range: e41
DOI: 10.2196/mhealth.4409
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published

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