Development and Effect of a Metabolic Syndrome Prevention Program for University Students using Mobile Application

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to develop and evaluate the effect of a metabolic syndrome prevention program using mobile application for university students. Methods: A pretest-posttest design with content analysis as a triangulation method was used. The participants were 49 university students. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, χ2-test, t-test and Fisher’s exact test with the SPSS WIN 18.0 program. Results: The application consisted of six main menus as follows: ‘basic education’, ‘nutrition education’, ‘exercise education’, ‘meal diary’, ‘exercise checkup’, and ‘tips’. The experimental group had higher recognition about metabolic syndrome prevention than the control group (F=7.919, p=.007). Understanding of metabolic syndrome among participants was mostly related to chronic diseases such as obesity, hypertension and diabetes in relation to the importance of eating habits and exercising. Conclusion: The results indicate that metabolic syndrome prevention education using mobile application is necessary and would be useful for university students.