The role of mobile health applications (mHealth apps) in reshaping the body weight for better healthcare: A cross-sectional study

Objectives: Obesity is a chronic, multifaceted, leading health problem causing numerous non-communicable diseases with a huge burden on the global healthcare system and economies. Worldwide, multiple interventions have been familiarized for weight reduction strategies, however, in recent years, mobile health applications (mHealth apps) for reshaping weight reduction have been introduced. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the role of mobile health applications in reducing weight among users in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Methods: This questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, and Medical Education, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh from May 2019 to December 2022. A total of 502 participants, 332 (66.1%) females and 170 (33.9%) males aged 18-50 years, using smartphones, residing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia were recruited. The questionnaire was distributed via social media platforms including WhatsApp, and emails and information were recorded.

Results: Among 502 participants, 221 (44.02%) were using mobile health applications and 281 (55.98%) did not use mobile health applications. The results revealed that the participants who have been using mHealth apps for the last six months had significantly decreased body weight compared to those who did not use the mHealth apps (p=0.001).

Conclusions: The study participants using mobile health applications (mHealth apps) had significantly reduced their body weight and felt healthier. The mHealth apps provide health-related information regularly to individuals to track their weight, monitor diet, and physical activity, and information about their overall health.