BACKGROUND: Today's generation of young adults are gaining weight faster than 
their parents; however, there remains insufficient evidence to inform 
interventions to prevent this weight gain. Mobile phones are a popular means of 
communication that may provide a convenient, inexpensive means to deliver health 
intervention programmes. This pilot study aimed to measure the effect of a 
12-week mobile health (mHealth) intervention on body weight, body mass index and 
specific lifestyle behaviours addressed by the programme.
METHODS: University students and staff aged 18-35 years (n = 51) were randomised 
(ratio 1 : 1, intervention : control). Both groups received a printed diet 
booklet with instructions prepared by a dietitian. The intervention group also 
received Short Message Service (SMS) text messages (four per week), e-mails 
(four per week), and had access to smartphone applications and Internet forums.
RESULTS: Pre- to post-intervention, participants in the intervention group 
decreased their body weight [mean (SD)] [-1.6 (2.6) kg], increased their light 
intensity activity [34 (35) min day(-1)] and reported an increased vegetable 
(1.0 median serving day(-1)) and decreased sugar-sweetened beverage intake [-355 
(836) mL week(-1)]. Despite this, post-intervention changes in outcomes were not 
significantly different from controls.
CONCLUSIONS: The piloted mHealth programme provided some short-term positive 
changes in weight, nutrition and physical activity using a low cost, convenient 
delivery method for this population. However, changes were no different from 
those observed among controls. This might partly be explained by intervention 
participants' low engagement with the programme, which is likely to require 
further modification to provide more regular, personalised, monitored support.