Mobile applications can help improve health behaviors

Mobile applications can help improve health behaviors

  Researchers at Américan Heart Association (AHA), showed that applications for smartphone and mobile sensors have significant potential to improve the cardiovascular health of users, including allowing them to adopt a healthier lifestyle .

In the United States, according to a report by Nielsen in 2014, nearly 1 in 5 adults uses one or more applications to monitor physiological data. The most used are those relating to the physical exercise and the measurement of the heart rate.

In 2010, the American Heart Association has developed a cardiovascular prevention program in seven points ("Single 7"). Four health behaviors were identified: reducing smoking and weight, healthy eating and promoting regular activity. And three health indicators have been put forward: glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol.

AHA a team of researchers therefore investigated whether these applications have an impact on cardiovascular health in general and on one of these 7 points in particular.

For this, the researchers reviewed studies on this subject over the last 10 years. "Our review included a total of 69 studies that investigated the use of mobile technologies to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. 10 targeted weight loss, 14 measured the increase of physical activity, 14 were acting to help stop smoking, 15 were related to the management of blood glucose, hypertension and 13 with only 3 were related to cholesterol, "the researchers said.

Increase physical activity and decrease smoking

The findings, published in the journal Circulation, revealed several key points. On weight management, scientists have found that people who had used applications, along with an overall weight loss program were more likely to do that in the short term than those who had tried to lose weight on their own .

Furthermore, the study found that the use of an online fitness program helping users to increase physical activity. The same applies to tobacco. The authors found that the use of specially dedicated applications doubled from 50% chances to stop even if 90% of users had not stopped after six months.

Nevertheless, because of the small sample used for these studies, the authors conclude that there is not enough evidence to say that mobile technologies have a direct impact on the risk factors.

"That does not mean they are not effective," the professor Lora E. Burke of the University of Pittsburgh (USA) in a statement the AHA. "Self-monitoring is one of the basic strategies to change behavior in cardiovascular health. If a smartphone application can help improve the behavior, you must keep it."

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