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BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making
Published in: BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making 1/2020

Open Access 01-12-2020 | Nutrition | Research article

The multi-faceted usage patterns of nutrition apps: a survey on the appropriation of nutrition apps among German-speaking users of MyFitnessPal

Authors: Paula Stehr, Veronika Karnowski, Constanze Rossmann

Published in: BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making | Issue 1/2020

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Abstract

Background

Current systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials suggest positive influences of mobile app-based health promotion programs on dietary and physical activity behaviors. However, the actual adoption of and rates of nutrition app use remain low among the overall population. Therefore, we took a step back and investigated actual use patterns. In doing so, we took an appropriation perspective in order to reveal different styles of everyday life integration of these apps.

Methods

We conducted an online survey with 761 German-speaking users of the MyFitnessPal app. Respondents were asked about their detailed use of nutrition apps according to an adapted version of the mobile phone appropriation model. Based on a cluster analysis, different user types were identified. These user types were compared and further described based on analyses of variance. In addition, we conducted a multinomial logistic regression to determine significant predictors of the varying usage patterns.

Results

Four different user types were identified: (1) Supported, (2) Indifferent, (3) Health-conscious, and (4) Socializer. These user types mainly differed regarding three aspects: (1) their willingness to adjust default settings to one’s own needs and abilities, (2) the role of social support and social norms, and (3) app use for socializing and competition.

Conclusions

Our study sheds light on the multi-faceted appropriation patterns of nutrition apps in Germany, thus paving the way for future studies on mHealth appropriation patterns and the design of more refined mHealth-interventions.
Footnotes
1
The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy indicates the proportion of variance in the variables that might be caused by underlying factors. Values above .50 are acceptable [44].
 
2
Subjective norms refer to the perceived social pressure to engage or not engage in a behavior [26].
 
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Metadata
Title
The multi-faceted usage patterns of nutrition apps: a survey on the appropriation of nutrition apps among German-speaking users of MyFitnessPal
Authors
Paula Stehr
Veronika Karnowski
Constanze Rossmann
Publication date
01-12-2020
Publisher
BioMed Central
Keyword
Nutrition
Published in
BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making / Issue 1/2020
Electronic ISSN: 1472-6947
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12911-020-01294-9

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