Evaluating the Quality of Smartphone Apps for Overeating, Stress, and Craving-Related Eating Using the Mobile Applicatio
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MOBILE HEALTH (K GARRISON, SECTION EDITOR)
Evaluating the Quality of Smartphone Apps for Overeating, Stress, and Craving-Related Eating Using the Mobile Application Rating Scale Isabelle Moseley 1 & Alexandra Roy 1 & Alana Deluty 1 & Judson A. Brewer 1
# Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract Purpose of Review Food overconsumption is a major public health issue worldwide where obesity-related conditions are a leading cause of preventable death. The purpose of this study is to rate the quality of mobile apps aimed at improving eating behavior by targeting food and stress-related eating using the Mobile Application Rating Scale. Recent Findings There are few published studies evaluating the effectiveness of smartphone apps targeting the addiction model to improve eating behavior. Although pilot studies have indicated that this approach is promising, no randomized controlled trials have been published. Summary This study included 19 apps, and app quality scores ranged from 2.58 to 4.87, with a mean score of 3.52 out of 5. The large discrepancy in quality is a concern given that these apps are aimed at addressing eating-related behaviors and influence health outcomes. As a result, a high burden is put on consumers to vigilantly screen apps to determine if information provided is based on scientific evidence. Keywords Overeating . Stress eating . Craving-related eating . Behavior change . mHealth
Introduction Eating addiction and food addiction represent enormous public health issues in today’s world. Between 1975 and 2016, the worldwide prevalence of obesity almost tripled. In 2016, over 39% of adults aged 18 years and older were overweight, more than 1.9 billion people. Of these, over 650 million adults were obese, representing 13% of the world’s population [1•]. Obesity-related conditions represent leading causes of preventable, premature death, such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and types of cancer [2]. While somewhat controversial, some researchers have likened obesity to drug This article is part of the Topical Collection on Mobile Health Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-020-00319-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Judson A. Brewer [email protected] 1
Mindfulness Center, Brown School of Public Health & Warren Alpert School of Medicine, Brown University, 121 S Main St, Providence, RI 02903, USA
addiction, as both conditions involve an enhanced value of one type of reinforcer (hyperpalatable food and drugs, respectively) at the expense of other reinforcers resulting from conditioned learning and resetting of reward thresholds after habitual drug abuse or overeating [3–5]. In this model, exposure to a reinforcer or to a conditioned stimulus triggers a mental simulation of the expected reward, which simultaneously over-activates motivation circuits and inhibits the cognitive control circuit, resulting in an inability to inhibit the urge to indulge, despite knowledge of the undes
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