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Lose It! Application Review

When deciding if a weight loss phone app is efficient or not, after pilot testing the
app myself and doing research on the apps efficacy, weight loss apps in general are not as
effective as one would believe. Doing research based off of twenty behavioral strategies
best for weight loss, Sherry Pagoto and many others decided to test an arrangement of
weight loss phone apps1. Lose It! was a part of the trial and ended up with mediocre
numbers and percentages across the board1. We will take a deeper look into the aspects
that make a weight loss phone app self-sufficient and apply the findings towards the Lose
It! app.
After using Lose It! for about two weeks now, staying on track and entering daily
information is troublesome. The app it self is a way to track what foods are consumed as
well as daily exercises performed. Although the app was visually appealing, it had no
motivational aspect to it to ensure success to its user. Looking at Figure 2 we can see the
app lacked emotional and motivational support, as well as tips, such as beneficial meal
plans or instructions on nutrition label reading, and knowledge about lifestyle activity
changes1. The overall percentage of the app, according to the Evidence-Based Strategies in
Weight-Loss Mobile Apps research paper, was 15% of criteria met, (this can be viewed in
Figure 1). The criteria that these apps were being tested on consisted of twenty behavioral
strategies, below is a minor list to grasp a general idea how these apps were being
analyzed:

Weight loss goal

Physical activity goal

Portion control

Stress Reduction

Nutrition Label Reading

Each apps percentage was based on whether or not the app had these strategies1. As
displayed in Figure 2, the exact criteria sheet that was used to conduct this research shows
all twenty-behavior strategies.

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The second step of the Lose It! app review was to download it and directly test it.

Based off of personal use, the app content was appealing but not necessarily helpful. Once
the app was downloaded the process and questions it asked before signing up were
general. Here are examples of the questions it asked:

What is your current weight? / What is your goal weight?

Gender/Height

Pounds wanting to lose per week

The reasoning behind such questions was to figure out how many calories should be
consumed daily to reach your goal weight. According to American Dietetic Association
(ADA) the Mifflin-St. Jeor equation that calculates your Basel Metabolic Rate (BMR) is
said to be most accurate4. In order to figure out a daily calorie intake, using the equation
displayed Figure 3, will give a most accurate number. Unfortunately, the Lost it! calorie
intake number (1,175 kcal/per day) differs from the Mifflin-St, Jeor number (1,489
kcal/per day), but in the Mifflin- St. Jeor equation, calculating how many pounds
wanting to loose per week is not included4. Therefore, it is hard to say if the Lose It! app
is accurate in their calculations. Also, this was the only thing the app calculated. Lose It!
did not provide exercise requirements, although it did allow you to enter exercise activity,
nor did it provide motivational aspects that are very important to weight loss.
Weight loss apps can be tricky on how they operate. There is a lot of information
that needs to be gathered in order to sufficiently track weight loss and milestones through
the journey of weight loss. After using the app for many days now, how the app flows and
works is quiet simple. Keepitusable, a world-class user experience through research and
design, has provided a useful cheat sheet to figure out if an app is easy to use3. After
playing and navigating through the app seventeen out of the twenty-five usability
questions were check marked, (displayed in Figure 4). This comes out to be about 70%.
Some of its strengths came from the design of the app. Since the icons were very easy to
understand and did not use technical jargon, it made the app easy to navigate through.
On the other hand some of the weaknesses also came from the design of the app, such as

the color contrast. Though this is not horrible, it isnt great either. Although keeping up
with the logs was simple, being motivated while doing so did not happen.
The final step to the review was to get entail from everyday users. In order to do
this, the store where the app was purchased, offered users to review that app. Some
ranged from one star to five stars, but the average was 4.4 stars according to Androids
Play Store2. The total number of reviews on the app in the Android Play Store was
roughly around thirty-eight thousand2. Based off of what users are saying, many seem to
have been successful from using this app, stories that range from weight loss bets to
physicians recommending the app to a pre-diabetic patient and their success2. With many
success stories also come negative experiences. The number one issue in correlation with
this app had to do with the difficulty of entering in a homemade meals and building
recipes to enter into daily logs2. Since there is a free version and a paid version the
reviews differ tremendously. The abilities of the paid version are far more advanced and
seem to have many of the missing behavioral strategies that the unpaid version had2.
The free version of Lose It! was the one that was studied in the Evidence-Based
Strategies in Weight-Loss Mobile Apps research paper and since it was rated a 15% overall this
app seems to be easy to use, but not necessarily beneficial to someone that is looking for a
motivating way to lose weight1. If the study was to happen again and they tested the paid
version, surly there would be an increase in percentages and results1. Unfortunately, since
this app got a 15% when the highest percentage was a 65%, a physician or a person that
wants a new and exciting way to lose weight, should not recommend or use this app1.

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Pagoto et al / Am J Prev Figures

Med 2013;45(5):576582

Table 2. Percentage evidence-based behavioral strategy criteria met by mobile application

App

Version

Platform

Cost ($)

% criteria
met

% of technologyassisted strategies

Number of
stars (of 5)

MyNetDiary PRO

3.40

iPhone

3.99

65

29

MyNetDiary

3.3

iPhone

Free

65

All-in Fitness

2.0

iPhone

0.99

25

29

3.5

Noom Weight Loss

2.0

Android

Free

25

43

4.5

Calorie Counter and Diet

Tracker

2.3.1

Android

Free

20

14

4.5

Daily Burn

1.2.3

iPhone

Free

20

14

3.5

SparkPeople

2.5

iPhone

Free

20

4.5

SparkPeople

2.1

Android

Free

20

29

Absolute Fitness

2.1.6

Android

4.99

15

Livestrong

1.2

Android

2.99

15

29

iPhone

Free

15

43

4
4.5

Calorie Counter
Arawella
Caloriecount.com

3.0

iPhone

Free

15

29

MyFitnessPal

3.3.1891

iPhone

Free

15

MyFitnessPal

2.3.1.007

Android

Free

15

43

Calorie Counter by
FatSecret

2.2.6

Android

Free

15

29

4.5

iPhone

Free

15

29

Calorie Counter by
FatSecret
MyNetDiary

1.0.5

Android

3.99

15

29

4.5

Livestrong

3.0.2.1201172152

iPhone

2.99

15

4.5

FitBit

1.2.3

iPhone

Free

15

43

Lose It!

3.7.2

iPhone

Free

15

14

Lose It!

1.1.9

Android

Free

15

4.5

Tap and Track Calorie

Counter

7.2.1

iPhone

3.99

15

4.5

Ultimate WW Diarya

5.2

Android

3.99

15

14

WW Diary

5.1

Android

2.15

15

14

WW Diary

4.01

Android

3.49

15

Android

1.49

15

29

3.5

WW Points Plus Diary

and Scannera

21.8

P90X

1.0, Build 94

iPhone

4.99

10

57

Nutrition Menu

1.26

iPhone

0.99

43

4.5

iPhone

2.99

Low-Carb Diet Assistant

NA

Not developed or sanctioned by Weight Watchers International, Inc.

NA, not applicable

Figure 1: Percentage evidence-based behavioral strategies criteria met by

mobile apps 1

included 65% of the behavioral strategies (Table 2). The

two apps with the next-highest percentage included only
25% of the behavioral strategies coded. Four apps
November 2013

included 20% of behavioral strategies, 18 included 15%,

one included 10%, and the remaining two included
only 5%.

578

Pagoto et al / Am J Prev Med 2013;45(5):576582

Table 1. Evidence-based behavioral weight-loss strategies represented in weight-loss mobile apps

Strategy

DPP session titlea

Description

%
apps

Weight-loss goal

Welcome to the Lifestyle

Balance Program

Participants are given a goal of 7%, or 12 pounds per week.

93.3

Dietary goal

Getting Started Losing Weight

Participants are given a fat and/or calorie goal that is consistent

with weight-loss goal.

90

Calorie balance

Tip the Calorie Balance

Participants learn how healthy eating and being active are

related.

86.7

Physical activity goal

Getting Started Being Active

Participants are encouraged to get 150 minutes of moderateintensity physical activity per week.

20

Exercise safety

Being Active a Way of Life/

Jump Start Your Activity
Plan

Participants are instructed on how to measure exertion and

avoid injury.

20

Benets of healthy diet

and physical activity

Welcome to the Lifestyle

Balance Program

Participants learn of the health benets of making lifestyle

changes.

13.3

Food substitutions

Be a Fat Detective

Participants learn healthy substitutions for foods that are high in

fat and calories.

10

Food pyramid

Healthy Eating

Review current food pyramid and its recommendations.

6.7

Stimulus control

Taking Charge of Whats

Around You

Participants learn about food and activity cues and ways to

change them.

6.7

Portion control

Be a Fat Detective

Participants learn to use scales, measuring cups, and spoons.

6.7

Lifestyle activity

Being Active a Way of Life

Participants are encouraged to engage in lifestyle activities (e.g.,

parking further away).

6.7

Target heart rate

Jump Start Your Activity Plan

Participants are instructed on how to measure their target heart

rate.

6.7

Problem solving

Problem Solving

Participants learn a ve-step process to brainstorm new

solutions to problems that inhibit their progress.

3.3

Stress reduction

You Can Manage Stress

Participants learn how to prevent stress and cope with

unavoidable stress.

Relapse prevention

Slippery Slope of Lifestyle

Change

Participants learn to identify what causes slips from healthy

eating and being active and how to recover from them.

Negative thinking

Talk Back to Negative

Thoughts

Participants learn how to identify negative thoughts and talk

back to them with positive ones.

Social cues

Make Social Cues Work for

You

Participants learn how to identify problem social cues and add

helpful ones.

Develop regular pattern

of eating

Healthy Eating

Participants are instructed to eat three meals.

Time management

Being Active: A Way of Life

Participants learn strategies for tting exercise into their

schedules.

Nutrition label reading

Be a Fat Detective

Participants learn to read nutrition labels.

The DPP Lifestyle Intervention Protocol can be found at www.bsc.gwu.edu/dpp/lifestyle/dpp_part.html.

DPP, Diabetes Prevention Program

Figure 2: Evidence-based behavioral weight-loss strategies represented in

weight-loss mobile apps 1
energy expenditure). A small proportion of apps included
the remaining behavioral strategies. Several behavioral
strategies were not used in any of the apps, including stress
reduction, relapse prevention, social cues, negative thinking,
developing a regular pattern of eating, time management,
and instruction on how to read nutrition labels.

Proportion of Behavioral Strategies

Represented in Mobile Apps

The mean percentage of behavioral strategies reected

was 18.83% (SD13.24). The two mobile apps that had
the highest percentage of criteria met were MyNetDiary
(free) and MyNetDiary Pro (paid), both of which

Men
10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) - 5 x age (y) + 5
Women
10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) - 5 x age (y) - 161.

Figure 3: Mifflin- St. Jeor equation to figure out Basel Metabolic Rate or daily calorie intake4.
#

mobile app usability checklist

Comments

Easy to navigate

Clear and consistent way to go back on every

screen

Labels and buttons text are clear and concise

Retains overall consistency and behaviour with

the mobile platform

Minimalist design - excess features removed

Content is concise and clear

Provides feedback to the user of system status

Number of buttons / links is reasonable

UI elements provide visual feedback when

pressed

10

Ensure any visual feedback is not obscured by

the user's finger

11

Colours used provide good contrast

12

Colours used provide good readability

13

Icons are clear to understand - no ambiguity

14

Font size and spacing ensures good readability

15

If changes can be made, ensure there is a

save button (gives peace of mind)

16

Present users with a confirmation option when

deleting.

17

Allow users to tailor frequent actions to make

them easier and quicker to do.

18

Speak the users language (not technical)

19

Auditory feedback is timely and appropriate

20

Settings to turn off auditory feedback / sound

21

Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover

from errors

22

Error messages are free of technical language

23

Error messages clearly explain how to correct

the problem

24

Any help text should be clear and unambiguous

25

Instructions easily visible or easily retrievable

whenever appropriate.

Figure 4: Keepitusable mobile usability cheat sheet3.

hello@keepitusable.com # #

keepitusable 2011#

www.keepitusable.com

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References

1. Pagoto, Sherry, Kristin Schneider, Mirjana Jojic, Michele Debiasse, and Devin Mann.
"Evidence-Based Strategies in Weight-Loss Mobile Apps." American Journal of Preventive
Medicine, 2013, 576-82.
2. Lose It!. FitNow Inc. . Android Apps on Google Play Web site.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fitnesskeeper.runkeeper.pro&hl=en.
Accessed April 2013.
3. "Award-winning User Experience (ux) Design and Usability Testing Agency." User
Experience Design, Usability Testing Mobile Ux Agency. Accessed April 15, 2015.
http://www.keepitusable.com.
4. "Determining Daily Calorie Needs." Freedieting. December 4, 2014. Accessed April
22, 2015. http://www.freedieting.com/calorie_needs.html.
Frankenfield DC, et al. Comparison of Predictive Equations for Resting Metabolic
Rate in Healthy Nonobese and Obese Adults: A Systematic Review.
J Am Diet Assoc. 2005;105:775-789.