Introduction
The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery recommends physical activity education both before and after weight loss surgery.
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It is a well-known fact that exercise has health benefits beyond weight loss, such as improving glycemic control and maintaining strong and healthy bones. A recent literature review supported increased exercise as an important component of the postoperative weight-loss lifestyle.
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Additionally, a Cochrane systematic review that included obese and overweight patients who did not undergo weight-loss surgery concluded that patients who participate in computer-based interventions lose more weight than those who do not.
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Logging physical activity is an easy way for patients to monitor exercise before and after surgery, and there are several web-based applications available at this time. Some applications allow the user to log his or her exercise only, while others calculate the energy expenditure and offer food-logging capabilities or networking opportunities. One benefit of web-based applications is that the user may access the information from any computer with Internet access, or even from his or her smartphone. This selection of web applications is compiled to provide the healthcare provider with a list of resources to share with patients and colleagues.
Methods
A web search was conducted in March 2013. Search topics included exercise log, application, program, and web-based. This search was limited to applications hosted online. There are some programs that can be downloaded to the user's computer, and these programs are not included in this list.
Bibliographic Findings
The web sites included in this article were selected because healthcare providers and patients may find them helpful for logging exercise. Information is also included in Table 1 to identify if the web site is free, includes community features, food log capabilities, and whether a mobile version is available.
Conclusion
Exercise is a very important part of any healthy lifestyle. There are many free web applications available today that allow users to connect with each other using message boards. Some people may appreciate a mobile application to access their log from their cell phone. Users should be encouraged to explore multiple web applications until they locate one that includes features they find useful and an interface that will encourage them to log their exercise.
