The effect of a social cognitive theory-based mobileapplication on adolescent obesity

This research was conducted to determine the effect of a mobile application based on social cognitive theory on adolescent obesity. The mobile application developed in this study aims to help participants increase their physical activity levels, develop healthy eating habits, increase their water consumption, and improve their self-efficacy in weight management. The research was conducted within the scope of a quasi-experimental model, one of the quantitative research designs, with a pre-test-post-test control group design. The research was conducted on 90 obese adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years who were studying in high schools affiliated with the Ministry of National Education in Denizli province in the 2023–2024 academic year. In the findings, a positive, weak/moderate and statistically significant relationship was found between the quality of life scale for children, the self-efficacy scale for children, the obesity awareness scale and the cognitive behavioral physical activity scale in the experimental group after the training. Statistically negative and significant relationships were found between body mass index and quality of life, self-efficacy and obesity awareness in the experimental group. It was determined that body mass index values were significantly lower compared to the control group. This result shows that the mobile application developed based on Social Cognitive Theory may be effective in weight management in adolescents. Keywords: Adolescent Obesity; Mobile Application; Social Cognitive Theory