SBIR-STTR Award

This Phase I SBIR application proposes the development and pilot testing of a health promotion mobile phone application, www.BodiMojo.mobi, for adolescents (ages 14-18). The product is designed to promote healthy eating and physical activity in older adolescents through a mobile program that can be accessed via any cell phone and to serve as a companion program to the theoretically-based, full- featured website, www.BodiMojo.com. Current efforts to improve nutrition intake and physical activity programs are very challenging to implement with this age group, particularly as related to program uptake, adherence, and social stigmatization. Mobile technology opens a world of opportunity for health and education. This project is designed to develop the mobile program ""text"" reminder system that includes both message content and translation to texting language geared toward improving healthy eating and rates of physical activity. A second aim will be to develop a database for a system of behavior goal tracking to be implemented on mobile phones. With the goal of addressing the unique needs of adolescents in the context of current technological innovations, BodiMojo.mobi offers a mobile-based personalized health promotion program that allows adolescents to track health goals, get empirically-based health information, and receive personalized feedback in a timely and confidential manner that extends beyond the reach of the classroom and the desktop computer. Once developed, usability testing of the mobile application will be conducted. Additionally, a pilot test of the mobile program with a sample of adolescents will be carried out to assess preliminary indicators of self-efficacy, program adherence, and acceptance. , ,

Public Health Relevance:
BodiMojo.mobi addresses the key public health issue of obesity prevention among adolescents by focusing on nutrition education and physical activity motivation through the use of mobile phones and a text messaging system to personalize and tailor health goals.

Thesaurus Terms:
0-11 Years Old;Address;Adherence;Adherence (Attribute);Adolescent;Adolescent Youth;Age;Age Group Unspecified;Area;Behavior;Businesses;Car Phone;Cardiac Diseases;Cardiac Disorders;Cell Phone;Cellular Phone;Child;Child Youth;Children (0-21);Communication;Community Health;Companions;Computers;Computers, Handheld;Control Groups;Data Banks;Data Bases;Databank, Electronic;Databanks;Database, Electronic;Databases;Development;Devices;Diabetes Mellitus, Adult-Onset;Diabetes Mellitus, Ketosis-Resistant;Diabetes Mellitus, Non-Insulin-Dependent;Diabetes Mellitus, Noninsulin Dependent;Diabetes Mellitus, Slow-Onset;Diabetes Mellitus, Stable;Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2;Diabetes Mellitus, Type Ii;Dietary Intake;Eating;Effectiveness;Elements;Evaluation;Feedback;Food;Food Intake;Goals;Grant;Hand-Held Computer;Handheld Computers;Health;Health Instruction;Health Priorities;Health Promotion;Health Training;Health Tutoring;Health Education;Heart Diseases;Human Resources;Human, Child;Intake;Internet;Language;Mody;Maintenance;Maintenances;Manpower;Maturity-Onset Diabetes Mellitus;Monitor;Motivation;Multimedia;Multimedium;Niddk;Niddm;National Institute Of Diabetes And Digestive And Kidney Diseases;National Institute Of Digestive Diseases And Kidney Disorders;Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes;Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus;Nutrition;Nutritional Science;Obesity;On-Line Systems;Online Systems;Parents;Penetration;Persons;Phase;Phone;Phones, Mobile;Physical Activity;Position;Positioning Attribute;Pre-Post Tests;Prevention Program;Process;Programs (Pt);Programs [publication Type];Public Health;Recommendation;Relative;Relative (Related Person);Reminder Systems;Research Design;Sbir;Sbirs (R43/44);Salutogenesis;Sampling;Schools;Science Of Nutrition;Self Efficacy;Services;Small Business Innovation Research;Small Business Innovation Research Grant;Stigmatization;Students;Study Section;Study Type;System;System, Loinc Axis 4;T2d;T2dm;Txt;Technology;Teen;Teenagers;Teens;Telephone;Telephone, Cellular;Testing;Text;Time;Translations;Type 2 Diabetes;Type Ii Diabetes;Www;Woman;Youth;Youth 10-21;Adiposity;Adult Onset Diabetes;Age Group;Base;Cancer Type;Children;Clinical Data Repository;Clinical Data Warehouse;Computerized;Corpulence;Corpulency;Corpulentia;Cost;Data Repository;Design;Designing;Diet Education;Fruits And Vegetables;Health Organization;Heart Disorder;Improved;Innovate;Innovation;Innovative;Insight;Interest;Juvenile;Juvenile Human;Ketosis Resistant Diabetes;Laptop;Maturity Onset Diabetes;New Technology;Nutrition;Nutrition Education;Obese;Obese People;Obese Person;Obese Population;Obesity In Children;Obesity Prevention;Online Computer;Personnel;Programs;Prototype;Public Health Medicine (Field);Public Health Relevance;Relational Database;Response;Saturated Fat;Sedentary;Social;Study Design;Sugar;Sweetened Beverage;Technological Innovation;Teen Years;Uptake;Usability;Web;Web Based;Web Site;Weight Gain Prevention;Weight Loss Intervention;World Wide Web;Youngster

This Phase II SBIR application proposes the development and testing of a theory-based health promotion mobile phone application, BodiMojo, for adolescents (ages 13-18). The product is designed to: (1) promote wellness, healthy eating and physical activity in adolescents through a mobile program that can be accessed via any cell phone or wireless device; and (2) develop a service administrator tool for health clinics and youth organizations to monitor and reward progress among their youth. Efforts to prevent obesity and improve nutrition intake and physical activity are very challenging to implement with this age group. This is in large part due to difficulties in program uptake and adherence, as well as social stigmatization and a lack of a sense of urgency about potential long-term adverse outcomes in adulthood. Phase I results clearly identified the need to engage teenagers with personal relevancy and to promote positive actions and reward small successes that may lead to behavior change. Attention to psychosocial issues such as mood and body image is clearly key to success in obesity prevention efforts. This project is designed to improve psychosocial factors, including body esteem, mood, and goal adherence, as they mediate the adoption of healthy eating and physical activity behaviors. Based on the proof-of-concept in Phase I, this application intends to fully develop the mobile program using gamification and social networks by capitalizing on the unique and broad-based capability of mobile phones. The second aim will be to develop a web-based tool and manual for health centers and school health staff to engage and track youth members in their efforts toward improving health behaviors. The final aim is to test the efficacy of and adherence to the mobile program in a randomized controlled field study among overweight and obese adolescents who are members of a large HMO. By addressing the unique needs of adolescents in the context of current technological innovations, BodiMojo offers a mobile-based personalized health promotion program that can reach large populations. At the same time BodiMojo facilitates goal attainment, provides empirically-based health information, and offers personalized feedback in a timely and confidential manner that extends beyond the reach of the clinical encounter or educational setting.

Public Health Relevance Statement:


Public Health Relevance:
BodiMojo is a mobile phone-based program that addresses the key public health issue of obesity prevention among adolescents. The program focuses on nutrition education and physical activity motivation through the use of a personalized messaging system to help teens attain their individual health goals.

Project Terms:
Address; Adherence (attribute); Administrator; Adolescent; Adolescent Nutrition; Adopted; Adoption; Adult; adverse outcome; Age; age group; Applications Grants; Area; Attention; Attitude; base; Behavior; behavior change; Body Image; body physical activity; Businesses; California; Car Phone; Cellular Phone; Childhood; Client; Clinic; Clinical; commercialization; Communication; computerized; cost effective; Databases; design; Development; Devices; digital; Eating; Educational aspects; Effectiveness; efficacy testing; Evaluation; experience; Feedback; field study; Friendships; Goals; Habits; Health; Health behavior; Health Care Reform; health organization; Health Personnel; Health Priorities; Health Promotion; Home environment; improved; Individual; innovation; Intake; interest; Internet; Lead; Life Style; Literature; Maintenance; Manuals; Mediating; meetings; member; Mental Depression; Monitor; Moods; Motivation; National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; new technology; nutrition; nutrition education; Obesity; obesity in children; obesity prevention; Online Systems; Outcome; Overweight; Parents; Patients; pediatrician; Penetration; Persons; Phase; Physical activity; Population; prevent; Prevention program; programs; psychosocial; Psychosocial Factor; Psychosocial Influences; public health medicine (field); public health relevance; Quality of Care; Randomized; Relative (related person); Reporting; response; Rewards; Risk; school health; School Nursing; Services; Side; Small Business Innovation Research Grant; social; Social Network; Solutions; Stigmatization; Stress; success; System; Tablets; teacher; technological innovation; Technology; Teenagers; Telephone; Testing; Text; theories; Time; tool; Training; uptake; Visit; web site; weight gain prevention; weight loss intervention; Wireless Technology; Youth