A Study to Assess the Compliance and Impact on Weight of Kurbo, a Pediatric Centered Weight Loss App

As a result of childhood obesity and its comorbidities, this generation of children might be the first to not outlive its parents. The national prevalence of adolescent obesity has increased from 5% to 21% over the last five decades. Even more discouraging is that youth are being afflicted with the same obesity-related comorbidities that are affecting adults. Conditions such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, dyslipidemia, metabolic syndrome, and sleep apnea are being diagnosed in children at younger and younger ages.

Lifestyle modification continues to be the cornerstone of treatment for obesity and its associated conditions. The basic concept behind lifestyle modification is a balance of caloric intake and caloric output. Lifestyle modification alone has shown to result in on average 5-10% weight loss over a 6 month period in adults or a 1-2 kg weight loss over 6-12 months. In pediatrics, weight loss is generally not used a marker of success given that the child is still growing linearly in most cases. Thus, changes in BMI and/or BMI z-score are utilized to measure success. Pediatric studies cite improvements in BMI z-score ranging from 0.004 to 0.42 with most studies averaging a 0.1-0.2 decrease in BMI z- score over 6 to 12 months.

The pediatric weight management program at Baystate Medical Center sees children and adolescents from the ages of 2-20 years. Standard care for the program involves monthly visits with a physician (either a general pediatrician or pediatric endocrinologist) or a nurse practitioner in addition to visits every 3 months with a registered dietitian. During each visit, food and activity recalls are conducted and 1-2 goals are made with the patient and their caregivers that focus on improving the quality and quantity of the patient's intake as well as increasing physical activity. Goals are personalized and are adjusted to meet the social, psychological, financial and motivational needs of the patient.

Sixty four percent of Americans own smartphones. The use of smartphone apps for health and wellness has sky rocketed as more sophisticated and user friendly apps are being developed to assist with weight loss, healthy eating, exercise and tracking food and activity. Digital tools can allow one to be constantly aware of how much they are eating and expending, which may result in an improvement in overall weight loss. In adults weight loss of 1-5 kg over a 6 month period is achievable using tools such as food log apps. Such apps are generally suited for adults only and the few weight loss apps targeted toward the pediatric population have not been validated by weight loss programs. Apps that are available for younger patients have been criticized for containing inadequate expert recommended strategies for achieving a healthy weight, lack of goal setting, and poor provision of education.

Kurbo is a health and fitness app that is targeted toward the pediatric population. It utilizes games and activities to educate children about healthy eating, portion control/size and exercise. It allows for food tracking by using servings of macronutrients and food groups and sets goals for achieving a healthy BMI through modification of diet intake. In addition to being created solely for children and adolescents, a unique feature of this app is an option to speak with a personal health coach on a regular basis to obtain feedback, advice and encouragement. Studies suggest that weight loss outcomes are best with more frequent contact hours but most weight loss clinics, including ours, are not equipped to meet with patients on a weekly basis or even monthly basis. The personal coaching aspect of Kurbo is expected to improve outcomes by increasing user access to feedback and advice.