ArticleJMIR formative research2019
Young Adults' Engagement With a Self-Monitoring App for Vegetable Intake and the Impact of Social Media and Gamification: Feasibility Study.
Article in JMIR formative research, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effect of Digital Health Interventions on College Students' Lifestyle Behaviors: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Pooled it
- Behavioural and cognitive changes in young adults towards food and nutrition after exposure to digital food communication: a mixed-methods systematic review.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2025Pooled it
- The Effectiveness of Strategies to Improve User Engagement With Digital Health Interventions Targeting Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Overweight and Obesity: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Pooled it
- Associations between Digital Health Intervention Engagement and Dietary Intake: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2021Pooled it
- Conceptual Ambiguity Surrounding Gamification and Serious Games in Health Care: Literature Review and Development of Game-Based Intervention Reporting Guidelines (GAMING).Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Pooled it
- Improving Calcium Knowledge and Intake in Young Adults Via Social Media and Text Messages: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2020Trial
- An Interactive Mobile Phone App (SMART 5-A-DAY) for Increasing Knowledge of and Adherence to Fruit and Vegetable Recommendations: Development and Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2019Trial
- The Usage Effects, Effect Modifiers, and Experiences of a Web-Based App for Healthy Habit Formation in Adults: Exploratory Analysis of a Quasi-Experimental Real-World Intervention.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2026Article
- Key Features of Engagement Strategies in Nutrition Apps for Adults: Scoping Review.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2026Article
- Review
- Planning for successful participant recruitment and retention in trials of behavioural interventions: Feasibility randomised controlled trial of the Wrapped intervention.PLOS digital health · 2025Article
- Evaluation of Chinese HIV Mobile Apps by Researchers and Patients With HIV: Quality Evaluation Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2024Article
- NutriColoring: designing a doodling toolkit to support daily self-reported dietary assessment among office workers.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- Time-Series Associations between Public Interest in COVID-19 Variants and National Vaccination Rate: A Google Trends Analysis.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Older Adult Engagement With FacebookJournal of gerontological nursing · 2022Article
- A pilot sequential multiple assignment randomized trial (SMART) protocol for developing an adaptive coaching intervention around a mobile application for athletes to improve carbohydrate periodization behavior.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2022Article
- The Barriers and Facilitators to the Use of Lifestyle Apps: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2022Review
- Expanding the Capabilities of Nutrition Research and Health Promotion Through Mobile-Based Applications.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSocial media and gamification have been used in digital interventions for improving nutrition behaviors of young adults, but few studies measure engagement.
objectiveThis feasibility study aimed to explore user engagement with a 4-week smartphone program for improving vegetable intake.
methodsA goal setting and self-monitoring app was developed for feasibility testing. We assessed if additional components of gaming and/or social media support increased engagement. A 2 × 2 factorial study design was used with participants randomly allocated to each group. Engagement with the app (usage) was captured via inbuilt software, which recorded total days of app usage (duration) and the frequency of logging vegetable intake. Uptake of the social media (Facebook) content was measured by tracking views, likes, and comments on posts.
resultsOut of the 110 potential participants who completed the prescreening questionnaire online, 97 were eligible (mean age 24.8 [SD 3.4]). In total, 49% (47/97) of participants were retained at 4 weeks. Attrition within the first week was the highest among users of the gamified app without social support (Facebook; P<.001). Over the intervention period, 64% (62/97) of participants logged into their app, with vegetable intake recorded on average for 11 out of 28 days. The frequency of recording decreased each week (mean 4 [SD 2] days in week 1 versus mean 2 [SD 2] days in week 4). No effects of gaming or social support on the frequency of recording vegetables or the duration of app engagement were found. However, regardless of the app type, the duration of app engagement was significantly associated with vegetable intake post intervention (P<.001). In total, 60% of Facebook posts were viewed by participants but engagement was limited to likes, with no comments or peer-to-peer interaction observed.
conclusionsAs duration of usage was associated with vegetable intake, a deeper understanding of factors influencing engagement is needed. Dimensions such as personal attributes and the setting and context require further exploration in addition to content and delivery.
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