There Are Thousands of Apps for That: Navigating Mobile Technology for Nutrition Education and Behavior

Mobile health (mHealth) is an emerging field devoted to the use of mobile and wireless devices to affect health outcomes, health care services, and health research. Despite great promise, little research has examined its effectiveness. It is the authors' view that the full potential of mHealth has yet to be realized in research and practice. This Perspective article explores when and for whom mHealth approaches are effective, strengths and limitations of commercially and academically generated apps, research design considerations, and public-private partnerships. These topics have implications for researchers and practitioners who wish to advance the science and practice of mHealth.