Cited by 152Eating Disorders and BehaviorsMobile Health and mHealth ApplicationsDigital Mental Health Interventions

Development of a smartphone application for eating disorder self‐monitoring

Tregarthen, Jenna P., Lock, James, Darcy, Alison M.·2015·International Journal of Eating Disorders

Abstract

Objective: This case report aims to (1) describe the development and refinement of a smartphone application for eating disorder self‐monitoring; (2) characterize its users in terms of demographic and clinical characteristics; and (3) explore its feasibility and utilization as a self‐monitoring tool. Method: We developed a mobile phone application through which people with eating disorders can self‐monitor meals, emotions, behaviors, and thoughts. The application also included positive reinforcement, coping skill suggestions, social support, and feedback components. The app was made available on two Internet app stores. Data include number of downloads and subsequent usage statistics, consumer ratings on app‐stores are used as indicators of satisfaction, anonymous aggregate demographic data and Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire scores from 57,940 individuals collected over a two‐year period. Results: The app demonstrated population‐level utilization with over 100,000 users over a two‐year period. Almost 50% percent of users stated that they are not currently receiving clinical treatment and 33% reported they had not told anyone about their eating disorder. A surprising number of people with severe problems are using the app. Discussion: Smartphone apps have the capacity to reach and engage traditionally underserved individuals with eating disorders at a large scale. Additional work is indicated for the evaluation of the clinical effectiveness of applications for specific user groups and in clinical treatment contexts. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2015; 48:972–982)

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Registry

Crossref · 10.1002/eat.22386

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Authors
Tregarthen, J. P., Lock, J., & Darcy, A. M.
Affiliations
  • Recovery Record (United States) (US)
  • Stanford Medicine (US)
Venue
International Journal of Eating Disorders
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2015-07-27
Volume
48
Issue
7
Pages
972-982
ISSN
  • 0276-3478 (ISSN-L)
  • 1098-108X
OpenAlex
W1923233133
Cited by
152
References
48
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 1
FWCI
16.12
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • International Journal of Eating Disorders (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Mental Health (R44MH108221)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
Keywords
eating disorders, mobile application, self-monitoring, mobile health, app development, app ratings, positive reinforcement, coping strategies, social support, Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire
MeSH terms
Smartphone, Feeding and Eating Disorders, Humans, Male, Mobile Applications

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