Weight-loss apps ineffective, study finds

When it comes to weight loss, apparently, there isn’t an app for that.

A new study by researchers at the University of Massachusetts released in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine studied the 30 most used weight loss apps on iTunes and Android Market. It set out to test how many of the Centre for Disease Control’s Diabetes Prevention Plan proven weight-loss criteria each app addressed. Most of the popular apps didn’t even include half of the 20 proven strategies to help users lose the pounds.

And don’t bother paying for these apps. The study found no difference in effectiveness between apps which were free and those which were paid for, some costing up to five bucks.

“Paid mobile apps, which ranged in price from $0.99 to $4.99, were no more likely than free apps to include behavioural strategies” wrote the authors.

Almost all of the apps provided information and help on calorie balancing, dietary goal-setting and weight-loss goal setting, but there were seven strategies which went unaddressed by all of the programs. Stress reduction, relapse prevention, negative thinking assistance, social cue identification, development of eating patterns, time management and information on reading nutrition labels were all missing from every app.

“Weight-loss mobile apps have proliferated in the marketplace but appear to reflect a narrow range of behavioural strategies,” the study notes. “The apps evaluated here ranged from meeting 0 per cent to 65 per cent of behavioural strategies included in evidence based behavioural weight-loss interventions, indicating that the quality varies.”

The two apps which scored best, covering 65 per cent of studied criteria, were MyNetDairy (free) and, MyNetDairyPRO ($3.99), but the paper noted there is much room for improvement in all of these apps.