Preprint Article Version 1 This version is not peer-reviewed

Effectiveness of Smartphone App for the treatment of Pediatric Obesity: A Prospective Longitudinal Study

Giuseppina Rosaria Umano
,
Mariapia Masino
,
Grazia Cirillo
,
Giulia Rondinelli
,
Francesca Massa
,
Giuseppe Salvatore R.C. Mangoni di Santo Stefano
,
Anna Di Sessa
,
Pierluigi Marzuillo
,
Emanuele Miraglia del Giudice
* ,
Pietro Buono
Version 1 : Received: 1 August 2024 / Approved: 2 August 2024 / Online: 2 August 2024 (12:58:08 CEST)

How to cite: Umano, G. R.; Masino, M.; Cirillo, G.; Rondinelli, G.; Massa, F.; Mangoni di Santo Stefano, G. S. R.; Di Sessa, A.; Marzuillo, P.; Giudice, E. M. D.; Buono, P. Effectiveness of Smartphone App for the treatment of Pediatric Obesity: A Prospective Longitudinal Study. Preprints 2024, 2024080162. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202408.0162.v1 Umano, G. R.; Masino, M.; Cirillo, G.; Rondinelli, G.; Massa, F.; Mangoni di Santo Stefano, G. S. R.; Di Sessa, A.; Marzuillo, P.; Giudice, E. M. D.; Buono, P. Effectiveness of Smartphone App for the treatment of Pediatric Obesity: A Prospective Longitudinal Study. Preprints 2024, 2024080162. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202408.0162.v1

Abstract

Background: Pediatric obesity treatment is based on high-intensity lifestyle counseling. However, high dropout rates and low effectiveness have been reported even in specialized centers. Mobile health technologies have been used in research settings to overcome these limits with contrasting results. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a six-month intervention with a mobile app for the treatment of pediatric obesity at 6 and 12 months of follow-up. Methods: Patients were randomly assigned to standard care or standard care plus mobile app (2:1). The mobile app delivered high-intensity lifestyle counseling for diet and physical activity. Results: Seventy-five subjects were prospectively enrolled. At six months of follow-up, the m-app group showed significantly lower dropout rates compared to standard care(p=0.01). The risk of dropout was significantly higher in controls compared to the intervention group (OR 3.86,95%C.I. 1.39-10.42,p=0.01). After one year of follow-up, we observed lower albeit non statistically significant dropout rates in the m-app compared to the standard care group(p=0.24). No differences were observed in terms of z-score BMI and percentage of BMI reduction between the two groups. Conclusion: our findings suggest that mobile app might help in the clinical management of children and adolescents with obesity in terms of dropout reduction.

Keywords

obesity 1; treatment 2; m-Health 3

Subject

Medicine and Pharmacology, Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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