Effectiveness of mobile application for promotion of physical activity among newly diagnosed patients of type II diabetes – A randomized controlled trial

Mobile health intervention shows the positive effects on the management of chronic diseases. Therefore, the study was planned to study the effectiveness of a mobile‑based application promotion of physical activity among newly diagnosed patients with type II diabetes.

The present study was a parallel‑design randomized controlled trial conducted over 2 years. The participants were type II diabetes patients between 18 and 60 years within 3 months of diagnosis who attended the endocrinology outpatient department having knowledge of using smart phone. The sample size was calculated to be 66 and 33 for each arm. The block random design method was adopted for allocation into different arms. A pretested interview schedule was used for the collection of data. Outcomes included body mass index, waist circumference, body fat percentage, and changes in the physical activity was obtained by global physical activity questionnaire (GPAQ). The information thus collected were processed and analyzed using SPSS v 20.

The study included 66 patients aged between 18 and 60 years, out of which 33 were enrolled into control and 33 into intervention group. The mean age of the participants was 42.29 ± 9.5 years ranged from 25 years to 59 years, 65.2% were males and 34.8% were females. It was observed that a higher proportion of intervention participants met WHO recommendations of physical activity level. Total metabolic equivalent of task (MET) value per minute (Mean ± SD) was 1347.27 ± 1028.5 in the control group and 1223.03 ± 584.87 in intervention group at baseline and was not different (P = 0.538). The total MET value per minute was found to be higher among the intervention group in all follow‑ups. There was a significant decrease in weight, BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference, body fat percentage, and systolic blood pressure (SBP) in the intervention group.

Cost‑effective, simple mobile applications may help in routine clinical practice to encourage the patients for the promotion of physical activity.