title: Mobile technology for obesity prevention: a randomized pilot study in racial- and ethnic-minority girls.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mobile technologies have wide-scale reach and disseminability, but no known studies have examined mobile technologies as a stand-alone tool to improve obesity-related behaviors of at-risk youth.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To test a 12-week mobile technology intervention for use and estimate effect sizes for a fully powered trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-one low-income, racial/ethnic-minority girls aged 9-14 years were randomized to a mobile technology (n=26) or control (n=25) condition. Both conditions lasted 12 weeks and targeted fruits/vegetables (FVs; Weeks 1-4); sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs; Weeks 5-8), and screen time (Weeks 9-12). The mobile intervention prompted real-time goal setting and self-monitoring and provided tips, feedback, and positive reinforcement related to the target behaviors. Controls received the same content in a written manual but no prompting. Outcomes included device utilization and effect size estimates of FVs, SSBs, screen time, and BMI. Data were collected and analyzed in 2011-2012.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mobile technology girls used the program on 63% of days and exhibited trends toward increased FVs (+0.88, p=0.08) and decreased SSBs (-0.33, p=0.09). The adjusted difference between groups of 1.0 servings of FVs (p=0.13) and 0.35 servings of SSBs (p=0.25) indicated small to moderate effects of the intervention (Cohen's d=0.44 and -0.34, respectively). No differences were observed for screen time or BMI.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A stand-alone mobile app may produce small to moderate effects for FVs and SSBs. Given the extensive reach of mobile devices, this pilot study demonstrates the need for larger-scale testing of similar programs to address obesity-related behaviors in high-risk youth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, Kansas. Electronic address: nnollen@kumc.edu.
authors.forename: Nicole L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Nollen
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, Kansas.
authors.forename: Matthew S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Mayo
authors.affiliation: Department of Dietetics and Nutrition, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, Kansas.
authors.forename: Susan E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Carlson
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, Kansas.
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rapoff
authors.affiliation: Health Services and Outcomes Research, Children's Mercy School of Pharmacy, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri.
authors.forename: Kathy J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Goggin
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, Kansas.
authors.forename: Edward F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Ellerbeck
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008913:Minority Groups; D063731:Mobile Applications; D009765:Obesity / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D044469:Racial Groups; D057185:Sedentary Behavior / Q000208:ethnology