Mobile applications for the control of obesity: a systematic review of the literature

Objective: This article aims to carry out a systematic review of the literature in order to identify scientific publications on mobile applications for the control and treatment of obesity. Methodology: The terms "mhealth application", "ehealth application", "adult overweight" and "adult obesity" were used in the databases provided by the portals PubMed Central, VHL and Cochrane Library, in the period from January 2013 to September 2016. We have included articles available in their full version, of the clinical trial type, performed with adults over 18 years of age regardless of study time, provided they described results regarding control of overweight (BMI ≥25 kg / M²) or obesity (BMI ≥30 kg / m²) by variables such as weight measurements, BMI or waist circumference. Pregnant women, adults unfit to engage in physical activity or with severe mental illness, articles with no implementation results, and duplicate articles were excluded. Conclusion: Mobile applications have proved to be important m-health tools, both for providing users self-promotion of health care and for remote monitoring of patients under chronic conditions, but there is still a need for improved usability, more personalized interaction, and to take into account pedagogical aspects that help both reducing and maintaining weight, bringing about a reeducation to healthier habits that leads to a better quality of life.