مجال
التميز

تميز دراسي وبحثي 

البحوث المنشورة 

البحث (1):

عنوان البحث:

Do Arabic weight-loss apps adhere to evidence-informed
practices?

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تاريخ النشر:

13/10/2015

موجز عن البحث:

Mobile technology has been used successfully for
promoting health and weight loss and for treating obesity. There is a high
prevalence of smartphone and tablet users among the Saudi population. This
study aimed to identify whether current Arabic weight-loss apps had features
that adhered to evidence-informed practices. The six most relevant app stores
were systematically searched using the Arabic words for weight and diet (n = 298).
All apps that met the inclusion criteria (n = 65) were downloaded and
examined for adherence to 13 evidence-informed practices. Latent class analysis
identified two subgroups of apps: self-monitoring (15 % of apps) and
advice-giving apps (85 %). The median number of evidence-informed
practices was 1 (1, 2), with no apps having more than six and only nine apps
including four to six. Meal planning was the most common feature (38 % of
apps). These findings identify serious weaknesses in the currently available
Arabic weight-loss apps. Thus, existing and future apps should include more
features based on the best available evidence in the context of Arab culture.

البحث (2):

عنوان البحث:

What
Overweight Women Want From a Weight Loss App: A Qualitative Study on Arabic
Women

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تاريخ النشر:

20/05/2015

موجز عن البحث:

Background

Overweight and obesity
are international public health issues. With mobile and app use growing
globally, the development of weight loss apps are increasing along with
evidence that interventions using technology have been effective in the
treatment of obesity. Although studies have been conducted regarding what
content health professionals would recommend within weight loss apps, there
are limited studies that explore users’ viewpoints. There is specifically a
paucity of research that takes the cultural background of the user into
consideration, especially in Middle Eastern countries where the lives and
weight loss intervention needs of women not only vary vastly from the
West, but the obesity rate is also increasing exponentially.

Objective

The current study sought
to explore the proposed features of an Arabic weight loss app by seeking the
experiences and opinions of overweight and obese Saudi Arabian users in order
to design a mobile phone app to fit their needs.

Methods

Focus group discussions
were conducted with a purposive sample of volunteer overweight and obese
Saudi women (BMI ≥ 25) who were older than 18 years and who owned a mobile
phone. The most common Arabic and English weight loss mobile apps were
downloaded to initiate dialogue about app usage and to get their opinions on
what an ideal weight loss app would look like and the features it would
include. All transcribed, translated discussions were thematically analyzed,
categorized for each of the main topics of the discussion, and specific
quotations were identified.

Results

Four focus groups were
conducted with a total of 39 participants. Most participants owned an Android
mobile phone and only a few participants were aware of the availability of
health-related apps. Barriers to weight loss were identified including:
motivation, support (social and professional), boring diets, customs, and
lifestyle. Diverse themes emerged as suggestions for an ideal weight loss app
including: Arabic language and culturally sensitive; motivational support and
social networking; dietary and physical activity tools; and a tailorable,
user-friendly interface.

Conclusions

This study identifies
weight loss app features from the users’ perspective, which should be
considered in the development of a weight loss app for this population.

البحث (3):

عنوان البحث:

Development of ‘Twazon’: An Arabic App for Weight
Loss

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تاريخ النشر:

16/05/2016

موجز عن البحث:

Background: Weight
gain and its related illnesses have become a major public health issue across
the world, with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries seeing dramatic
increases in obesity and overweight, and yet there is very little information
on how to intervene with this demographic due to cultural and linguistic
barriers. As the use of smartphones and apps has also increased in the
region, information communication technologies could be a cost-effective
means of facilitating the delivery of behavior-modification interventions
directly to the target population. Although there are existing apps that
offer lifestyle-modification tools, they do not give consideration to the
evidence-based practices for weight management. This offers an opportunity to
create an Arabic language weight loss app that offers localized content and
adheres to evidence-informed practices that are needed for effective weight
loss.

Objective: This
paper describes the process of developing an Arabic weight loss app designed
to facilitate the modification of key nutritional and physical activity
behaviors among Saudi adults, while taking into consideration cultural norms.

Methods: The
development of the Twazon app involved: (1) reviewing all available Arabic
weight loss apps and compared with evidence-based practices for weight loss,
(2) conducting a qualitative study with overweight and obese Saudi women to
ascertain their preferences, (3) selecting which behavioral change strategies
and guidelines to be used in the app, (4) creating the Saudi Food Database,
(5) deciding on graphic design for both iPhone operating system and Android
platforms, including user interface, relational database, and programming
code, and (6) testing the beta version of the app with health professionals
and potential users.

Results: The
Twazon app took 23 months to develop and included the compilation of an
original Saudi Food database. Eight subjects gave feedback regarding the
content validity and usability of the app and its features during a pilot
study. The predominant issue among the group was the lack of information
explaining how to use the app. This has since been resolved through the
implementation of a tutorial. No other changes were required to be made.

Conclusions: Information
communication technologies, such as smartphone apps, may be an effective tool
for facilitating the modification of unhealthy lifestyle habits in Saudi;
however, consideration must be given to the target population, cultural
norms, and changing trends in the global market. The effectiveness of the app
will be better determined during a 6-month intervention with 200 overweight
and obese Saudi women.

المؤتمرات العلمية:

المؤتمر (1):

عنوان المؤتمر:

3rd
American Society for Nutrition Middle East Congress (Nutrition
in Health & Disease)

تاريخ الإنعقاد:

19/02/2014

مكان
الإنعقاد:

Dubai, UAE

طبيعة المشاركة:

Poster Presentation

عنوان المشاركة:

What Overweight Women Want From a Weight Loss App?

ملخص المشاركة:

Introduction: The
prevalence of obesity in most of the Gulf countries equals or exceeds the
obesity rates of the United States of America (USA). There is evidence that
mobile phone technology is being used to promote health and specifically,
weight loss. Saudi Arabia (SA) is one of six countries that have been
reported to have the highest smartphone users in the world. This technology
provides an opportunity to reach and influence Saudis’ daily lives. A review
of Arabic weight loss Apps identified that those available, have low levels
of compliance with weight management guidelines. This study aims to explore
the proposed features for a weight loss application (App) by seeking the
experiences and opinions of overweight and obese Saudi women themselves. Methods:
Four focus group discussions (FGD) were conducted with a purposive sample of
39 volunteer overweight and obese Saudi women (body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25),
older than 18 years, who own a Smartphone) to seek participants’ opinion of
using smartphone Apps to support weight loss, and their experience and
feelings about features of such Apps. All transcribed, translated discussions
were thematically analyzed, categorized for each of the main topics of
discussion and specific quotations were identified. Results: Few participants
were aware of the availability of health-related Apps. Study findings showed
that Saudi women would prefer the weight loss App to be in Arabic and
culturally sensitive. Social networking emerged as an important feature to
provide motivational support. A number of barriers to weight loss including
motivation, support (social and professional), boring diets, customs and
lifestyle were identified. Ease of use and tracking tools were highly
regarded. Conclusion: Arabic, user-friendliness and social support are valued
features that were suggested by Saudi overweight and obese women. These
findings will inform the development of an Arabic Weight loss App as the
basis of a weight loss intervention. Key words: Mobile technology, weight
loss management, Focus group discussions (FGD).