ODP591 Obesity and Weight Loss Apps in COVID-19 Era: Do They Help Both the Doctor and the Patient?
Authors: Lawrence Rebecca , Dunaif Andrea , Agarwal Parul 
Published: November 2022

Background

Obesity and high BMI are risk factors for COVID-19 affecting&gt;190M adults in the US. Televisits increased from 15K to 25M in October 2020. With 218B downloads, apps are popular. During COVID19, obesity and weight loss apps could be useful for telehealth for doctors and patients with obesity and high BMI.

Purpose

can doctors use obesity apps to help their patients and conversely, can patients use weight loss apps to improve their health during COVID-19?

Methods

From the MD point of view (POV), search terms "obesity," "obese," and "overweight"; from patient POV, search term,"weight loss" were used in Google search engine to identify the top 10 free obesity (OBE) apps, weight loss (WL) apps, respectively in Android and iOS stores. Android and iOS apps were ranked by downloads (DL) and reviews (RE), respectively. Apple does not provide download data. Inclusion criteria: Free, English, &gt;500,000DL in Google Play Store, &gt;100RE in Apple App Store. Parameters: COVID-19, gender, race, language accessibility, BMI, calorie count, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and fitness exercises. Obesity: Android(Downloads) vs iOS(Reviews). Android: 1-Lifesum(10M), 2-IdealWt(5M), 3-BMIcalc(5M), 4-WLTracker(1M), 5-WTtracker/BMIcalc(1M), 6-Weightloss Coach(1M), 7-BMI&WT Control(1/2M), 8-WTtrack/BMI(1/2M),9-BMI/idealWTcalc(1/2M),10-BMI/Weight Loss/Calc(1/2M); iOS: 1-BMICalc(22K), 2-MonitorYourWeight(14K), 3-aktiBMI(968), 4-BMICalc/WL(865), 5-Scelta: TrackMyWeight(831), 6-BMICalcforMen&Women(265),7-BMICalc/Manager(257), 8-BMICalc/WtTracker(237), 9-WtTrack/BMImonitor(127), 10-BMI/BMR&BodyFat(103). Weight Loss: Android(Downloads) vs iOS(Reviews). Android: 1-LoseWthome(50M), 2-Calcountmyfitness(50M),3-Losebellyfat(50M),4-LoseWtformen(50M), 5-LoseWtforwomen(50M),6-Monitoryourweight(10M), 7-Calcounterbyloseit(10M),8-Fatburnworkout(5M), 9-WLcalc/BMI(1M), 10-Fooducate(1M). iOS: 1-Myfitnesspal(1.3M),2-LoseitCalcounter(496k),3-fitbit(141K),4-Betterme(115K),5-Fooducate(68K),6-Bodyfast(62K),7-Caloriecounter-mynetdiary(34K), 8-Cronometer(28K),9-Controlmyweight(23K),10-Mydietcoach(20k). Gender=40/40; Race/ethnicity=0/40. COVID19 info= 0/40. Covid19 contact tracing=0/40. Diabetes=0/40; HTN=0/40 Blood pressure. Heart Disease: OBEapps=0/20; WLapps=2/20. Language options: OBEapps=5/20; WLapps=10/20. BMI: OBEapps=17/20; WLapps=19/20. Calorie count: OBEapps=4/20; WLapps=15/20. Fitness exercises: OBEapps=4/20; WLapps=10/20. Existing obesity and weight loss apps provide features for BMI calculation and calorie counting, but they do not provide any education about obesity associated comorbidities e. g. diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. Language barriers and racial/ethnic barriers play a role in health care delivery. Language options and different diets based on culture are not available in the apps. Sexual minority subpopulations have more risk factors for obesity and those issues are not addressed in the apps.

Conclusion

eHealth apps for Obesity and Weight Loss may be useful as a starting point for the Physician-Patient interaction during COVID-19 office visits or televisits. As physicians, we can continue to play a role in public education during this pandemic.

Presentation: No date and time listed