Table 1 Transtheoretical model-based mobile health application intervention program for polycystic ovary syndrome

Pre-action (three steps)

① Knowledge and information about PCOS

Contained recorded lectures and resource pages (such as ‘Basic knowledge about PCOS’ and ‘The benefits of a healthy lifestyle for patients with PCOS’) that provided knowledge and information about PCOS

② How to prepare for lifestyle change

Provided of knowledge and information to the participants who were preparing for lifestyle changes. It contained eight recorded lectures on topics such as home-based exercise programs (including exercise types, duration, and timings), diet and nutrition in PCOS, eating patterns (focusing on the importance of frequency and regularity), and the development of suitable exercise and diet plans

③ You need to change your lifestyle

In an online chat room: enable one-on-one communication between each participant and the professionally trained researcher, a couple of times;the researcher applied the motivation interview technology to trigger participants’ motivation for modifying their lifestyle

Action (three steps)

① Self-monitoring

Required participants to record their exercise routine (including exercise type, duration, time, and intensity) per week and diet (including daily meals and daily energy intake) per day

② Peer support

Included a chat room where participants could share their exercise and diet-control experiences with each other

③ Expert consultation

Included a chat room where participants could consult experts and seek strategies to overcome barriers to lifestyle modification

Maintain (two steps)

① Keep up your adherence to lifestyle modification

Provided knowledge and information to help participants in sustaining their adherence to lifestyle modification

② Expert consultation

Included a chat room where participants could consult experts and seek strategies to overcome barriers to lifestyle modification