A Quasi-Experimental Exploration of the Effects of the Mobile-App “Heia meg” on Motivation to Change Exercise Behavior and Dietary Intake

Background: This thesis explored the effects of a lifestyle-change mobile application developed by Helsedirektoratet named “Heia meg”. The app targets five different behaviors for lifestyle improvement. This study explored the effect on improved dietary intake and increased exercise. The app delivered messages and suggestions intended to encourage and motivate the user. Participants: The participants were recruited by offering them to participate immediately after they had downloaded the app (independently) by receiving a link in the app. They were informed that they would be contacted again and asked to undergo the survey again after 30 days. There was a total of 256 submissions, of these were 208 submissions for the first round and 48 submissions for the second round. There was a total of 15 participant for the baseline and posttest for exercise and 13 participants for healthy eating. These were the participants that completed the same survey at two times with a 30 day interval. Design: The study consisted of a pretest posttest quasi-experimental design with a baseline survey, and a posttest survey after the participants had received the intervention for 30 days. The survey attempted to map the participants level of motivation to change a health-related behavior using the transtheoretical model of change questionnaire. The participants were scored on the stages of readiness to change. There was an even distribution between the target behaviors. Results: An independent t-test yielded statistically significant differences for the action stage for the dietary intake group. A paired t-test yielded statistically significant differences for the action stage for dietary intake. Conclusion: The results implies that the “Heia Meg”-app may have had an effect in increasing motivation to improve dietary intake over a course of 30 days. This study adds to the field of mHealth and the promising possibilities of this fiel