PmEB: a mobile phone application for monitoring caloric balance

In this paper, we present PmEB, an application for mobile phones that allows users to monitor their caloric balance as a part of weight management. PmEB allows users to track their caloric balance by recording food intake and physical activity on their mobile phones. Daily reminder messages are sent via SMS messages to encourage compliance. Collected data is sent automatically every 24 hours to a central server where it can be analyzed in detail. PmEB was designed as a tool for both users to self-monitor and manage their food consumption and physical activity and primary health care providers to study behavioral patterns in overweight patients. Formative evaluation with seven health-intervention experts and a week-long user study with six clinically overweight, non-expert participants have shown PmEB to have promising potential for improving self-efficacy in dietary and exercise behavior.