The app calculates a recommended daily calorie intake based on the user's current weight and their goal weight. Using a daily plan that includes a food log, it allows the user to enter meals eaten, and receive instant feedback on calories consumed and the remaining calories left for the day. It also includes motivational tips, reminders and allows the user to log exercise. For a more detailed description of the app, see Google Play or iTunes and for a detailed review, see Reviews.
Pros
Cons
✔ This is a simple, user-friendly app with some effective graphics to see your weight management progress against your goals.
✔ The app includes an inbuilt pedometer and physical tracker.
✘ This app promises a lot of functions but many are only available with upgrade to Noom Pro with a monthly fee
✘ The app provides the user with some (limited) feedback on food choices using a traffic light system or green, orange and red foods.
✘ The guidelines for these categories are unclear and meal log analysis does not align with NZ Eating & Activity Guidelines, for example muesli is coded as RED (limit).
✘ The goal calorie intake seems low. All reviewers were set daily goals <1350kcal/day. There are concerns that users would find these goals unachievable and this is likely to put them off using the app.
Reviewer: Dietitian App Review Working Group, Auckland DHB, July 2015. Comments: "An easy to use self-monitoring tool for motivated people wanting assistance with weight management. Some concerns around daily calorie goals and database is American based often requiring amount eaten in ounces rather than grams. The app markets and strongly encourages upgrades to Noom Pro to allow the user further (promised) functions for a monthly fee." Safety concerns: "The goal calorie intake seems low. All reviewers were set daily goals <1350kcal/day. There are no safety limits for recommended bodyweight range – or desired weight loss goals." New Zealand relevance: "Many of the foods in the food database are not available in New Zealand - based on the foods available in the US".
User review
Reviewer: Anonymous, NZ, August 2018 Comments: Having a coach to refer to, using psychology to help understand my relationship with food and how to tackle weight loss effectively for me. Bought a 3 week trial for $1 for pro version, would have appreciated a heads up before they were going to charge my credit card the full amount.
Tech review
The tech review relates to the technical aspects of the app, such as security, privacy, etc Reviewer: Sara Jebreil, July 2016 Security: This app is secure it requires login for use is password protected Privacy: Yes, app has privacy policy and data encryption. Apps information/ data is stored on internal devices memory and/or SD card Performance: Perfect/timely response; no technical bugs found/contains a ‘loading time left’ indicator Impact of the app on battery life and device performance: Does not reduce device performance using on average 64 MB of data over 3 hours. Interactivity: Very high level of responsiveness through interactive features/feedback/user input options Customisation: Allows complete tailoring to the individual’s characteristics/preferences, retains all settings Data sharing: Yes, various options are available such as google drive, Dropbox, GoogleFit, apple health app, MMS and email services Multiple device syncing: Yes Use of locations services such as GPS: No
This review is based on the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) developed by researchers at Queensland University of Technology, Australia.(1) It is designed to score apps on a few comprehensive dimensions — engagement, functionality, aesthetics, and information quality. Each dimension comprises several items which are rated on a 5-point scale from “1.Inadequate” to “5.Excellent”. Read more about the MARS scale.
The mean score is the mean of two independent reviewers' ratings:
