Post-pandemic weight loss: There’s an app for that

 With obesity rates continuing to rise in the United States, and with more than 40% of Americans reporting undesired weight gain since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people are seeking tools to help them shed the extra pounds. While the focus on dieting and weight loss has historically been on what and how much to eat, many companies are now turning their attention to the why and how of our eating behaviors: they are taking a more nuanced approach to help people understand why they eat the way they do, and how to make improvements in their eating routine.

A search for "weight loss" in any web browser or app store reveals hundreds of apps and programs designed to help people lose weight. While by no means a comprehensive review, the following weight-loss apps and programs are notable for some of the nuances in the features and program options they offer:

Noom uses artificial intelligence, cognitive behavioral therapy, and evidence-based principles of physiology and psychology to help people improve their eating behaviors with the assistance of support groups, daily educational activities, and interactive psychology-based challenges.

myWW+ (an app from WW, formerly Weight Watchers) uses their SmartPoints system — a numeric value assigned to every food item based on calorie, protein, sugar, and fat content — in combination with a flexible color-coded range of food plans. Each member is assigned to a plan after taking a personal assessment, and all plans have a personalized SmartPoints budget and list ZeroPoint food options. The MyWW+ app features 24/7 access to a health coach, guided workouts, meditations, and a sleep tracker.

Eat Right Now combines mindfulness training with an evidence-based, guided approach to help users rewire their brains to identify emotional triggers, recognize cravings, stop negative habits, and develop emotional resilience to help stop binge and emotional eating.

Reset offers a particular variation of the popular intermittent fasting protocol where users track food intake and follow a strict eating plan for only two "reset" days out of the week, and receive guidance and 1:1 coaching to help them sustain long-term healthy habits.

Livongo is an employer-based virtual telemedicine and health coaching service that provides patients with chronic disease management through consultation with health coaches who provide dietary and lifestyle advice, as well as medical providers who prescribe appetite-suppressing medications to those who qualify. They provide smart Bluetooth-connected scales and other medical devices for monitoring and transmitting health data.

What's the evidence that these tools work for sustained weight loss?

A 2016 study of data analyzed from nearly 36,000 Noom users determined that 77.9% of participants reported a decrease in body weight while using the app, and 22.7% of users experienced greater than a 10% body weight reduction compared to their baseline weight.