Obesity is a major public health challenge with
over 65% of US adults either overweight or obese.
Estimated annual costs of obesity are $78.5 billion. Selfmonitoring is a critical skill for successful weight management. However, self-monitoring is labor-intensive, and
compliance is often difficult. In this paper, the authors
describe the Patient-Centered Assessment and Counseling
Mobile Energy Balance (PmEB) mobile phone application
that allows users to self-monitor caloric balance in real
time. The application was developed and applied in a fourphase iterative research and development methodology. A
usability study and a preliminary feasibility study were
conducted. The 1 month feasibility study measured compliance and satisfaction among a sample of 15 participants
randomized to one of three groups: (1) a paper diary group,
(2) a PmEB group with one daily prompt, and (3) a PmEB
group with three daily prompts. PmEB scored highly on
usability, compliance, and satisfaction. In addition, mobile
phone group users scored PmEB the same as or better than
Paper Group members scored the paper diary in nearly all
categories. Thematic analysis of comments revealed very
positive reviews of PmEB as well as areas for improvement. PmEB is both usable and feasible for weight
management self-monitoring, and the iterative pilot study
methodology was effective in improving its usability.