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. 2020 Oct;47(5):677-681.
doi: 10.1177/1090198120936261. Epub 2020 Jun 25.

Self-Efficacy and Nutrition-Related Goal Achievement of MyFitnessPal Users

Madison L Bracken  1   2 , Bradly M Waite  1
Affiliations

Self-Efficacy and Nutrition-Related Goal Achievement of MyFitnessPal Users

Madison L Bracken et al. Health Educ Behav. 2020 Oct.

Abstract

Mobile health applications (apps) are increasing in popularity to assist in health behavior change and maintenance. Drawing from constructs outlined within the social cognitive theory by Bandura, we explored how frequently users of a popular health app achieved their health-related goals. Participants reportedly used the MyFitnessPal (MFP) app within the past year completed an online survey on how often they used MFP, their self-efficacy for healthy eating (SE-HE), and achievement of nutrition-related goals. Findings suggest that higher levels of SE-HE and greater use of MFP predicted greater goal achievement. One important finding was that greater use of MFP related to increased reports for goal achievement when SE-HE was lower but not when participants showed high level of SE-HE. The results from this study suggest that MFP may be the most helpful for those who find it more difficult to meet their nutrition-related goals.

Keywords: MyFitnessPal; goal achievement; nutrition; self-efficacy; self-monitoring; technology.

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