Mobile App based research study reveals insights on losing weight

A new mobile app that was designed to work on a smartphone has revealed newer ways of eating that can help lose weight. Two Indian American scientists, Satchidananda Panda and Shubhroz Gill researched people’s eating habits by tracking the daily intake of 150 Americans. The results of the research have been published in the September 24 issue of Cell Metabolism.mycircadianclock-app-screenshots

The app that was developed by the researcher duo, who work at the Regulatory Biology Department of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, functioned using a simple design. The app merely required the participants to click the photos of every item of food and drinks that they consumed during the day. Each click of the edible item also provided the researchers with meta-data such as location and time of consumption.

The app also found out that people consumed more than 35% of their calories during the evening hours than earlier in the day. For the people that consumed these many calories after 6 p.m., it was found that their weight increased. This way the study showed that having two big meals early on in the day and skipping dinner has a greater effect on losing weight than having 6 or more small meals consumed throughout the day. It was found out that most people eat for 14-15 hours in the day. The study revealed that those who reduced their eating time to 10-11 hours a day enjoyed a loss of 3.5% of excess body weight.

The study also revealed that more than two-thirds of the research group took medicinal supplements for vitamins and minerals, which of course, is not a surprise.

Even though the app was developed for a smartphone, it cannot be used as consultation for dietary habits as the app was made available only to research participants.

The smartphone app is available for anyone willing to contribute his/her data to a Salk Institute IRB-approved study. Visit This Link and then download the app “myCircadianclock” from the iOS App Store or Google Play.

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