There is an increasing number of apps appearing in the Apple Store as well as on the Android market that promise users to have a significant impact on their health. They work in a number of ways like counting calories, keeping track of weight, measuring the BMI, suggesting recipes, developing a diet plan etc. There is little, evidence, however, that these apps really have any affect.
It may as well be that something important is missing at the interface prototyping stage. According to statistics, less than 5% of users of health apps continue to use them after four weeks. This number is not surprising; it is not that far from other apps but health apps have a much more dedicated audience. What is it that has to be taken into account in interface prototyping for these apps?
I myself have tried a few health apps, like exercise plans, protein intake control and calorie counting apps, and my impression is that despite good concepts behind them the development must have skipped interface prototyping and user testing. I found that health apps require a lot of commitment and continual user input, which is why interface prototyping is particularly important. Entering all exercise or meal information every day can become tiresome very quickly if the process is not fast and convenient. To say nothing of how socially inappropriate interaction with the app can be.
In my opinion, during interface prototyping the developers should focus on the way users input the needed information. A good way of speeding up this process is allowing to scan barcodes, saving favorites and defaults, having access to a user library to select meal or activity from. Interface prototyping should define the way users get the information. Crowd-sourcing the app, for one, could be a great option to enter new information and create public libraries.