Background: Binge eating is a subjective loss of control while eating, which leads to the consumption of large amounts of food. It can cause significant emotional distress and is often accompanied by purging behaviors (eg, meal skipping, overexercising, or vomiting). Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the potential of mobile sensing to detect indicators of binge-eating episodes, with a view toward informing the design of future context-aware mobile interventions. Methods: This study was conducted in 2 stages. The first involved the development of the DeMMI (Detecting Mental health behaviors using Mobile Interactions) app. As part of this, we conducted a consultation session to explore whether the types of sensor data we were proposing to capture were useful and appropriate, as well as to gather feedback on some specific app features relating to self-reporting. The second stage involved conducting a 6-week period of data collection with 10 participants experiencing binge eating (logging both their mood and episodes of binge eating) and 10 comparison participants (logging only mood). An optional interview was conducted after the study, which discussed their experience using the app, and 8 participants (n=3, 38% binge eating and n=5, 63% comparisons) consented. Results: The findings showed unique differences in the types of sensor data that were triangulated with the individuals’ episodes (with nearby Bluetooth devices, screen and app use features, mobility features, and mood scores showing relevance). Participants had a largely positive opinion about the app, its unobtrusive role, and its ease of use. Interacting with the app increased participants’ awareness of and reflection on their mood and phone usage patterns. Moreover, they expressed no privacy concerns as these were alleviated by the study information sheet. Conclusions: This study contributes a series of recommendations for future studies wishing to scale our approach and for the design of bespoke mobile interventions to support this population.

中文翻译：

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使用移动交互检测心理健康行为：专注于暴食的探索性研究

背景：暴饮暴食是一种在进食时的主观失控，导致进食大量食物。它会导致严重的情绪困扰，并且通常伴有净化行为（例如，不吃饭、过度锻炼或呕吐）。目的：本研究的目的是探索移动传感检测暴食事件指标的潜力，以期为未来情境感知移动干预措施的设计提供信息。方法：本研究分两个阶段进行。第一个涉及开发 DeMMI（使用移动交互检测心理健康行为）应用程序。作为其中的一部分，我们进行了一次咨询会议，以探讨我们建议捕获的传感器数据类型是否有用和适当，并收集与自我报告相关的某些特定应用程序功能的反馈。第二阶段涉及进行为期 6 周的数据收集，其中 10 名参与者经历暴食（记录他们的情绪和暴食事件）和 10 名比较参与者（仅记录情绪）。研究结束后进行了一次可选访谈，讨论了他们使用该应用程序的体验，8 名参与者（n=3，38% 暴食和 n=5，63% 比较）同意。结果：研究结果显示了与个人事件进行三角测量的传感器数据类型的独特差异（附近的蓝牙设备、屏幕和应用程序使用功能、移动功能以及显示相关性的情绪评分）。参与者对该应用程序、其不显眼的角色和易用性有很大的积极评价。与该应用程序互动提高了参与者对其情绪和电话使用模式的认识和反思。此外，他们没有表达任何隐私问题，因为研究信息表缓解了这些问题。结论：本研究为希望扩展我们的方法的未来研究以及为支持这一人群设计定制的移动干预措施提供了一系列建议。