Abstract
Obesity and its associated non-communicable diseases (NCD’s) are considered a public health crisis. Despite the numerous public health advocacy and policies, opportunities avail in addressing the devastating impact of NCDs through personalised and technology driven avenues. The proliferation of mobile devices and access to a plethora of nutrition-related applications (apps), herald new frontiers in the campaign to manage and eradicate the impact of NCDs. This study accesses the effectiveness of nutrition-related apps in mitigating the risks associated with NCDs and facilitating healthier lifestyle amongst millennials in Johannesburg. The research adopted quantitative methods, utilising 150 self-administered survey questionnaires acquired from millennials in Johannesburg. The research observed a significant level of effectiveness of nutrition-related apps in achieving health and fitness goals. The result also indicates the effectiveness of nutrition-related apps in ensuring consistency in healthy eating habits, enabling users to adopt healthier eating habits than they otherwise could without the use of such apps. The findings revealed information quality as the primary motivation for the adoption nutrition-related apps by millennials. The findings contextualises a global phenomenon regarding the increasing use of nutrition-related apps as a novel medium for healthier lifestyles, and are relevant for policy making and the advancement of the local ecosystem of app developers and users...
M.Com. (Tourism and Hospitality)