Abstract

New and emerging mobile technologies are providing unprecedented possibilities for understanding and intervening on obesity-related behaviors in real time. However, the mobile health (mHealth) field has yet to catch up with the fast-paced development of technology. Current mHealth efforts in weight management still tend to focus mainly on short message systems (SMS) interventions, rather than taking advantage of real-time sensing to develop just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs). This paper will give an overview of the current technology landscape for sensing and intervening on three behaviors that are central to weight management: diet, physical activity, and sleep. Then five studies that really dig into the possibilities that these new technologies afford will be showcased. We conclude with a discussion of hurdles that mHealth obesity research has yet to overcome and a future-facing discussion.

Date

2015

Authors

Donna Spruijt-Metz, Cheng KF Wen, Gillian O’Reilly, Ming Li, Sangwon Lee, BA Emken, Urbashi Mitra, Murali Annavaram, Gisele Ragusa, Shrikanth Narayanan

Source

Current obesity reports

Volume

4

Pages

510-519

Publisher

Springer US