Introduction
The smartphone has taken the world by storm. It allows users to communicate with friends, take pictures on demand, and gives them the ability to access a vast amount of information via the internet. This technology has become essential to our identity. As a consequence, this all-in-one device is causing users to become increasingly sedentary. Some believe that weight gain has become inevitable in our technology-dependent world, but many believe it will also provide a solution. Promising studies have shown that the smartphone is among the most valuable weapons in our fight against obesity.
Smartphone Applications and Childhood Obesity
According to Altamimi, Skinner and Nesbitt (2015), childhood obesity is on the rise. In fact, …show more content…
Derbyshire and Dancey (2013) say that 5% more women than men own a smartphone. Women are also 5% more likely to use health related software. (Introduction, para. 1) As a result, health applications have further opportunity to assist women in shedding pounds. Several researchers have indicated that sending SMS reminders to a group of overweight women would cause them to lose a significant amount of weight in comparison to the control groups. (Norman et al., 2013; Shapiro et al., 2012) In contrast, a separate study by Turner et al., 2011, showed that “push notifications”, or on-screen messages from an application, did not enhance weight loss. All three of these studies used only reminders, not external hardware such as the “FitBit”, or even the pedometer built into the average smartphone. Despite this, there is definite proof that applications are a great supplement to a weight loss …show more content…
Admittedly, the modern world has made body weight increasingly difficult to control. The average American eats out 4 or more times a week, and many of these meals don’t include nutritional information. This is why “food tracking” applications on smartphones have become essential. Okumas and Bilihan (2013) suggest an application called “LoseIt!”, a smartphone app that allows users to track their calorie consumption over the course of a day. It offers nutritional facts for both generic foods, such as apples or chicken, as well as information from popular chain restaurants. They even allow users to be notified as daily fat, protein and carbohydrate goals are reached. While it does take self-discipline to log this information after each meal, these types of applications have been proven to be effective. Some applications like “LoseIt!” claim their users lose an average of 12 lbs. (Promoting healthy eating behavior via smartphone apps, para. 6) As a bonus, Okumus and Bilgihan go on to say that as these applications become more popular, this could also encourage chain restaurants to offer healthier
The smartphone has taken the world by storm. It allows users to communicate with friends, take pictures on demand, and gives them the ability to access a vast amount of information via the internet. This technology has become essential to our identity. As a consequence, this all-in-one device is causing users to become increasingly sedentary. Some believe that weight gain has become inevitable in our technology-dependent world, but many believe it will also provide a solution. Promising studies have shown that the smartphone is among the most valuable weapons in our fight against obesity.
Smartphone Applications and Childhood Obesity
According to Altamimi, Skinner and Nesbitt (2015), childhood obesity is on the rise. In fact, …show more content…
Derbyshire and Dancey (2013) say that 5% more women than men own a smartphone. Women are also 5% more likely to use health related software. (Introduction, para. 1) As a result, health applications have further opportunity to assist women in shedding pounds. Several researchers have indicated that sending SMS reminders to a group of overweight women would cause them to lose a significant amount of weight in comparison to the control groups. (Norman et al., 2013; Shapiro et al., 2012) In contrast, a separate study by Turner et al., 2011, showed that “push notifications”, or on-screen messages from an application, did not enhance weight loss. All three of these studies used only reminders, not external hardware such as the “FitBit”, or even the pedometer built into the average smartphone. Despite this, there is definite proof that applications are a great supplement to a weight loss …show more content…
Admittedly, the modern world has made body weight increasingly difficult to control. The average American eats out 4 or more times a week, and many of these meals don’t include nutritional information. This is why “food tracking” applications on smartphones have become essential. Okumas and Bilihan (2013) suggest an application called “LoseIt!”, a smartphone app that allows users to track their calorie consumption over the course of a day. It offers nutritional facts for both generic foods, such as apples or chicken, as well as information from popular chain restaurants. They even allow users to be notified as daily fat, protein and carbohydrate goals are reached. While it does take self-discipline to log this information after each meal, these types of applications have been proven to be effective. Some applications like “LoseIt!” claim their users lose an average of 12 lbs. (Promoting healthy eating behavior via smartphone apps, para. 6) As a bonus, Okumus and Bilgihan go on to say that as these applications become more popular, this could also encourage chain restaurants to offer healthier