Mobile phone app for weight watchers

“I can barely climb up two flights of stairs. My panting is pronounced and my doctor keeps telling me I risk being hypertensive if I do not shed some weight. I am 27 and I weigh 76 kilogrammes, ” says Mildred Agoya, a Nairobi resident.

Ms Agoya is just one among millions of women in the country struggling with weight issues, and their solution could lie in a mobile phone application if the Health ministry approves a pilot programme currently running in Nakuru County. The programme allows one to manage their weight with the use of a personalised application called Simway.  Trials will be conducted in Naivasha and the results will determine if it will be rolled out nationally.

One in every four women in Nakuru is either overweight or obese and the county has been ranked third among those worst hit by obesity, at 41 per cent, following Nairobi and Kirinyaga.  The patent system will be used to monitor 350 community health volunteers in 26 community units in Naivasha. 

The app, launched in the country by a Japanese public health marketing agency in collaboration with Nakuru County, will be on  trial for two years among those struggling to cut weight.

According to the Kenya Demographic Health Survey, 2014, more than 40 per cent of women in their 30s and 40s are either overweight or obese, mainly due to  physical inactivity, overeating, lifestyle and social economic status. Lack of knowledge on how to manage weight has only made the problem worse. 

TESTING POSITIVE FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

“More and more people in this county are testing positive for high blood pressure and diabetes whenever we hold county medical camps. Majority are not even aware that they are obese or have overweight related health conditions.” says Mungai Kabii, Nakuru health executive.

One in every four women in Nakuru is either overweight or obese and the county has been ranked third among those worst hit by obesity, at 41 per cent, following Nairobi and Kirinyaga.  The patent system will be used to monitor 350 community health volunteers in 26 community units in Naivasha.  Each volunteer will help in the intervention of 10-20 overweight individuals. “All the volunteers will be made smartphone-literate to have a result-based approach to the programme. Volunteers could develop a personalised plan with an accurate calculation of calories  intake reduction goal, track daily behaviour, or answer questions on health,” said Kasumi Sawada, the Managing Director of Africascan Limited, which is in charge of the programme in Kenya.