Update: April 23, 2024: These apps have now been retired and are no longer available.

By Janice Macdonald, MEd., RD,  Aim2Be Director, Childhood Obesity Foundation

Finally, there’s an app you can feel confident recommending to families to help them adopt healthy behaviours related to eating, physical activity, recreational screen time and sleep. There’s an app for parents and for youth, 10+ years. Aim2Be can be downloaded from the app stores and is available in French too. Full details are available on the Aim2Be website including access to a kit you can download and use to help promote Aim2Be to families you work with. Follow and like us on social media and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Aim2Be:

  • focuses on living green and fostering a strong self-esteem and a healthy body image
  • supports users to set realistic health goals, adapting and personalizing the experience to every family’s unique journey
  • emphasizes that food and physical activity are to be enjoyed with family and friends
  • focuses on adopting healthy behaviours and promoting self-care
  • encourages family and peer support and positive social connections.

Parents and youth shaped the design, functionality and content of Aim2Be. Dietitians, physical activity experts and psychologists developed and reviewed the content and national health organization collaborators, including Obesity Canada, reviewed it too. For a full list of our collaborators visit the Aim2Be website.

Aim2Be is being independently evaluated with Canadian families by Louise C. Mâsse, PhD with the University of British Columbia and BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute. Results from an early evaluation with almost 300 families with teens are promising. Parents and youth, who used Aim2Be over a 4.5 month period for 30-60+ minutes in total, reported increasing their fruit and vegetable intake. Teens reported drinking less fruit juice and parents fewer sugary drinks. Teens significantly decreased their screen time too. A randomized control trial with 200 families will provide further evidence of the impact of Aim2Be on health behaviours. Dr. Mâsse will present findings at the 8th Conference on Recent Advances in the Prevention & Treatment of Childhood and Adolescent Obesity on October 26, 2020.

The Childhood Obesity Foundation has been funded, in part, by the Public Health Agency of Canada to develop and evaluate Aim2Be with matched funds from Ayogo (the software developer), Merck Canada, Heart & Stroke, Diabetes Canada, Obesity Canada, Dietitians of Canada, Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, Craving Change, and the David Suzuki Foundation.

If you have questions you can contact me directly – janice@childhoodobesityfoundation.ca.