L15 - diet apps

What are diet apps?

allow users to enter foods and match them to a large nutrient database using methods similar to 24hr recall and diet records

What is MyFitnessPal?

the most popular diet app, has data for 17 nutrients

What is Cronometer?

another diet app which reviews all user entered foods and has data for up to 84 nutrients

What is EasyDietDiary?

another diet app which uses the Australian food based dietary guidelines, has data for 11 nutrients

What are the advantages of diet apps?

food can be entered at time consumed and app can send reminders, need little training and is relatively accessible, allows individuals to monitor their own diets discretely

What are the disadvantages of diet apps?

large variations in relative validity (validity compared to other methods), users enter food themselves which may be lacking description, may be inaccurate or not found in the database, might not be NZ nutrient database, limited capacity to enter recipes (no nutrient retention factors) and assumes you follow regular dietary patterns

What has research shown about diet apps and their errors ?

diet apps seem to be a good estimate for macronutrients and energy but not for micronutrients, databases relied on may have missing/inaccurate data and users often underreport or omit foods most commonly fats and oils, alcohol and discretionary food and drink

What does the Nutrient Information Panel (NIP) have to contain in NZ and what additional thing does it contain in the US?

energy, carbs (sugar), fat (saturated fat), protein and sodium at least and US also contains %DV

What is the issue with non NZ nutrient databases?

countries vary in: animal husbandry, climate affecting omega 3 FAs in fish, fortification programmes, soil, tastes and preferences, common terms and dominant cultivars

How can diet apps be misleading for goal intakes?

chance of someone having the right energy requirement as their goal is unlikely, BMI/weight trends are the only way to know if energy intake is adequate and apps dont usually use AMDRs

What has self monitoring diets shown to be associated with?

self monitoring dietary intake strongly correlated with weight loss which shows apps can facilitate change however, no directional causality so could just be that users of diet apps are better at weight loss

What are other concerns regarding diet app use?

diet apps may play into EDs through monitoring enhancing rigidity and anxiety about caloric intake