According to the FDA, 500 million smartphone users worldwide will download a health care application, and in 2018, 50 percent of more than 3.4 billion smartphone and tablet users with download this application.

In the study, Effectiveness of a Smartphone Application for Weight Loss Compared With Usual Care in Overweight Primary Care Patients, published November 2014 in Annals of Internal Medicine, smartphone apps for dietary weight-loss have both positive and negative results. The study involved 212 obese and overweight participants and lasted six months. One hundred six patients were randomly assigned to a standard care group and 106 patients were assigned to the health-phone app group using MyFitnessPal. The researchers’ conclusion: Smartphone apps for weight loss may be useful for persons who are ready to self-monitor calories, but introducing a smartphone app is unlikely to produce substantial weight change for most patients.

More and more applications are popping up on the Apple Store or Google Market. Not only are there programs to learn how to lose weight, the apps also offer informative news, studies, facts, reports and workshops—all conveniently available on a phone or tablet. For retailers, staying on top of which apps are trending is a great way to offer their customers even more advice for weight loss. Here are a few:

• A-Z Food Nutrition Facts App provides detailed information regarding food, vitamins, minerals, fiber, cooked, raw, etc.

• Calorie Count counts the calories and nutritional values when adding the food you ate, then it takes the total amount of calories and subtracts them from the allowed amount of daily calories.

• Super Diet Genius creates a personal weight loss diet by incorporating Superfoods into your diet, and documents your daily and weekly diet based on your individual goals.

• Fooducate is the only app not counting calories, but instead helps you eat healthier. Also, you can scan a products bar code to see the nutritional value in the food. It then provides healthy alternatives.

• Fit Stitch helps you achieve your fitness goals by tracking your progress and making before and after photos for self-motivation.

• Lose It! helps you to set goals for weight loss, track what you eat and the amount of calories, share food and recipes with friends, and it also allows you to connect with friends, family and peers for 24/7 support.

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