BACKGROUND: Obesity is a major global public health issue due to its association with a number of serious @entity102 and its high economic burden to health care providers. Self-monitoring of diet has been consistently linked to @entity353 . However, there is limited evidence about how frequently individuals need to monitor their diet for optimal @entity353 . OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper is to describe app usage frequency and pattern in the mobile phone arm of a previously conducted randomized controlled trial. The relationship between frequency and pattern of electronic dietary self-monitoring and @entity353 is also investigated. METHODS: A randomized pilot trial comparing three methods of self-monitoring (mobile phone app, paper diary, Web-based) was previously conducted. Trial duration was 6 months. The mobile phone app My Meal @entity16175 features an electronic food diary and encourages users to self-monitor their dietary intake. All food consumption data were automatically uploaded with a time and date stamp. Post hoc regression analysis of app usage patterns was undertaken in the My Meal @entity16175 group (n=43; female: 77%, 33/43; white: 100%, 43/43; age: mean 41, SD 9 years; body mass index: mean 34, SD 4 kg/m(2)) to explore the relationship between frequency and pattern of electronic dietary self-monitoring and @entity353 . Baseline characteristics of @entity1 were also investigated to identify any potential predictors of dietary self-monitoring. RESULTS: Regression analysis showed that those in the highest frequency-of-use category (recorded >= 129 days on the mobile phone app) had a -6.4 kg (95% CI -10.0 to -2.9) lower follow-up weight (adjusted for baseline weight) than those in the lowest frequency-of-use category (recorded <= 42 days; P<.001). Long-term intermittent monitoring over 6 months appeared to facilitate greater mean @entity353 than other patterns of electronic self-monitoring (ie, monitoring over the short or moderate term and stopping and consistently monitoring over consecutive days). @entity1 characteristics such as age, baseline weight, sex, ethnicity, conscientiousness, and consideration of future consequences were not statistically associated with extent of self-monitoring. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this post hoc exploratory analysis indicate that duration and frequency of app use is associated with improved @entity353 , but further research is required to identify whether there are @entity1 characteristics that would reliably predict those who are most likely to regularly self-monitor their diet. CLINICALTRIAL: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01744535; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01744535 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6FEtc3PVB).

Weight Loss Associated With Different Patterns of Self-Monitoring Using the Mobile Phone App My Meal XXXX .

@entity16175 :: ('185542', 'Species') :: ['Mate'] @entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['participants', 'participant', 'Participant'] @entity353 :: ('MESH:D015431', 'Disease') :: ['weight loss'] @entity102 :: ('MESH:D002908', 'Disease') :: ['chronic illnesses']
@entity16175 :: (185542,Species) :: ['Mate']
