The Development of an Arabic Weight-Loss App Akser Waznk: Qualitative Results.
The Development of an Arabic Weight-Loss App Akser Waznk: Qualitative Results.
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DOI：
10.2196/11785
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发表时间：
2019-03-14
影响因子：
2.2
通讯作者：
Gay, Valerie
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Alturki, Ryan;Gay, Valerie
背景：肥胖及其相关疾病是世界范围内的一个主要健康问题。沙特阿拉伯是全球肥胖率最高的国家之一；然而，由于沙特阿拉伯的文化和社会规范以及语言障碍，预防肥胖和超重的干预并不容易。近年来，沙特阿拉伯的智能手机和应用程序使用量呈指数级增长。这些可作为一种具有成本效益的工具，促进向肥胖和超重者提供行为改变干预措施。有各种各样的健康和健身应用程序声称可以提供改变生活方式的工具。然而，这些都没有确定克服肥胖所需的动机特征，没有考虑基于证据的体重管理实践，也没有考虑可用性属性来提高应用程序的可用性。目的：本研究旨在探索开发阿拉伯语减肥应用程序的机会和需求，该应用程序提供本地化内容，并解决现有应用程序存在的问题。本研究解释了设计阿拉伯减肥应用程序所采取的步骤，该应用程序旨在促进关键营养和身体活动和行为的调整，并考虑到沙特阿拉伯的社会和文化规范。方法：对26名肥胖的沙特阿拉伯人进行定性研究，测试两款减肥应用的可用性水平，并给出反馈和建议。Akser Waznk是一款主要为iphone设计的交互式、用户友好型应用。它有几个功能，旨在帮助用户监控和跟踪他们的食物消耗和身体活动。该应用程序提供个性化的饮食和减肥建议。像Let's Walk这样的独特功能旨在激励用户多走路。实现增强现实功能，提供有关健身设备、水果和蔬菜的信息。该应用程序使用行为改变技术来增加活动和健康行为，以及减肥管理的循证实践。Akser Waznk应用程序通过应用一系列指导方针和程序来考虑用户隐私和数据安全。结果：应用程序的开发耗时26个月。总共有7位专家（5位营养师和2位体育运动专业人士）评估了该应用程序的内容。此外，在试点研究中，10名潜在用户（5男5女）测试了应用程序的可用性水平、功能和性能。他们报告说，该应用程序的设计是交互式的，动机功能是用户友好的。结论：移动技术，如移动应用程序，有可能成为促进沙特社区改变不健康生活方式行为的有效工具。为了取得成功，必须考虑目标群体、可用性、动机特征以及社会和文化规范。
BACKGROUND: Obesity and its related illnesses are a major health problem around the world. Saudi Arabia has one of the highest national obesity rates globally; however, it is not easy to intervene to prevent obesity and becoming overweight owing to Saudi Arabia's cultural and social norms, and linguistic barriers. In recent years, there has been an exponential growth in the usage of smartphones and apps in Saudi Arabia. These could be used as a cost-effective tool to facilitate the delivery of behavior-modification interventions for obese and overweight people. There are a variety of health and fitness apps that claim to offer lifestyle-modification tools. However, these do not identify the motivational features required to overcome obesity, consider the evidence-based practices for weight management, or enhance the usability of apps by considering usability attributes.OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the opportunity and the need to develop an Arabic weight-loss app that provides localized content and addresses the issues with existing apps identified here. This study has explained the steps taken to design an Arabic weight-loss app that was developed to facilitate the adjustment of key nutritional and physical activities and behaviors, which considers the social and cultural norms of Saudi Arabia.METHODS: Qualitative studies were conducted with 26 obese Saudi Arabians, who tested the level of usability of 2 weight-loss apps and then provided feedback and recommendations. The app Akser Waznk is an interactive, user-friendly app designed primarily for iPhones. It has several features intended to assist users to monitor and track their food consumption and physical activities. The app provides personalized diet and weight loss advice. Unique features such as Let's Walk are designed to motivate users to walk more. An augmented reality function is implemented to provide information regarding fitness equipment, fruits, and vegetables. The app uses behavior-change techniques to increase activities and healthy behaviors and evidence-informed practices for weight-loss management. The Akser Waznk app considers user privacy and data security by applying a number of guidelines and procedures.RESULTS: The development of the app took 26 months. In all, 7 experts (5 dietitians, and 2 physical activity professionals) evaluated the app's contents. Moreover, 10 potential users (5 men and 5 women) tested the app's level of usability, its features, and performance during a pilot study. They reported that the app's design is interactive, and the motivational features are user-friendly.CONCLUSIONS: Mobile technology, such as mobile apps, has the potential to be an effective tool that facilitates the changing of unhealthy lifestyle behaviors within the Saudi community. To be successful, the target group, the usability, motivational features, and social and cultural norms must be considered.