Mobile App Helps Cancer Survivors Lose Weight

Overweight endometrial and breast cancer survivors--at higher risk for premature death--had moderate success in lowering body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference using the web and smartphone/tablet-based weight loss application, “Lose It!”

A study conducted by Summa Health System researchers in Akron, Ohio, provided 50 early-stage overweight women cancer survivors access to the app and instructed them to log daily food intake and their voluntary exercise for one month. BMI and waist circumference were assessed at the baseline and at the end of the test period for each of the 50 women. At the end of the 30-day test period, both were reduced by three to four percent.

“What our research found parallels the recent SUCCEED (Survivors of Uterine Cancer Empowered by Exercise and healthy Diet) trial,” lead author Michele McCarroll said in a written statement. “We were very encouraged by the findings which validate that a lifestyle intervention using an application like Lose It! is a feasible option for short-term weight loss. Further, through this approach the patient does not face some of the cost and healthcare provider access issues normally associated with more face-to-face traditional weight loss programs.”