University of Oulu study finds mobile app improves eating behavior

Research conducted by the University of Oulu has demonstrated that the Onnikka mobile application can improve eating behaviors in adults with obesity. The study, known as the FeelGood study, involved 200 participants aged 18–65 with a BMI between 30 and 40 kg/m².

Results indicated that six months of using the digital lifestyle intervention increased conscious eating restriction while reducing uncontrolled eating, emotional eating, and binge eating. These positive behavioral changes were directly linked to weight loss. The study found that greater increases in conscious restriction and decreases in binge and uncontrolled eating correlated with higher levels of weight loss.

Participants were divided into two groups: one using the app immediately and a control group that began using it after a six-month waiting period. The positive behavioral changes observed in the first group were also replicated in the second group once they began using the app. These improvements were sustained throughout the 18-month follow-up period.