A Mobile Ecological Momentary Assessment Tool (devilSPARC) for Nutrition and Physical Activity Behaviors in College Students: A Validation Study

Abstract

BackgroundThe majority of nutrition and physical activity assessments methods commonly used in scientific research are subject to recall and social desirability biases, which result in over- or under-reporting of behaviors. Real-time mobile-based ecological momentary assessments (mEMAs) may result in decreased measurement biases and minimize participant burden.ObjectiveThe aim was to examine the validity of a mEMA methodology to assess dietary and physical activity levels compared to 24-hour dietary recalls and accelerometers.MethodsThis study was a pilot test of the SPARC (Social impact of Physical Activity and nutRition in College) study, which aimed to determine the mechanism by which friendship networks impact weight-related behaviors among young people. An mEMA app, devilSPARC, was developed to assess weight-related behaviors in real time. A diverse sample of 109 freshmen and community mentors attending a large southwestern university downloaded the devilSPARC mEMA app onto their personal mobile phones. Participants were prompted randomly eight times per day over the course of 4 days to complete mEMAs. During the same 4-day period, participants completed up to three 24-hour dietary recalls and/or 4 days of accelerometry. Self-reported mEMA responses were compared to 24-hour dietary recalls and accelerometry measures using comparison statistics, such as match rate, sensitivity and specificity, and mixed model odds ratios, adjusted for within-person correlation among repeated measurements.ResultsAt the day level, total dietary intake data reported through the mEMA app reflected eating choices also captured by the 24-hour recall. Entrées had the lowest match rate, and fruits and vegetables had the highest match rate. Widening the window of aggregation of 24-hour dietary recall data on either side of the mEMA response resulted in increased specificity and decreased sensitivity. For physical activity behaviors, levels of activity reported through mEMA differed for sedentary versus non-sedentary activity at the day level as measured by accelerometers.ConclusionsThe devilSPARC mEMA app is valid for assessing eating behaviors and the presence of sedentary activity at the day level. This mEMA may be useful in studies examining real-time weight-related behaviors.

The Association among Emotions and Food Choices in First-Year College Students Using mobile-Ecological Momentary Assessments

“…These options were developed based on formative work by Laska et al with college students, which identified common food groups consumed: 1) cookies and sweetened baked goods, 2) candy and gummy fruit snacks, 3) salty snacks, 4) fruits and vegetables, 5) frozen desserts, 6) non-milk dairy products, 7) entrees, 8) cereals and grains, and 9) fried side dishes [ 40 ]. These food groups were adapted to after our pilot with first-year college students [ 41 ]. Participants could select more than one food choice.…”

Employment status and temporal patterns of energy intake: Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan, 2005–2008

“…Food items recorded in the dietary recall were then converted to nutrients based on the food composition tables (31) . Participants whose dietary recall had extreme values of energy intake were excluded; thus, the final analysis included adults (aged 19 years or older) whose total energy intake ranged from 2092 to 20 920 kJ/d (500 to 5000 kcal/d; n 4508), a range commonly applied in observational studies to exclude extreme values of energy intake (32)(33)(34) .…”

Peer Review #2 of "mHealth technology for ecological momentary assessment in physical activity research: a systematic review (v0.1)"

“…More specifically, we agree with defining mEMA as "the use of mobile computing and communication technologies for the ecological momentary assessment of health and lifestyle behaviors". As an example, some researchers have combined mHealth and EMA methodologies to study alcohol, tobacco and drugs consumption (106), depression and anxiety (107), eating disorders and obesity (108), or nutrition and PA behaviors (109). Thus, mEMA methodology can facilitate monitoring of healthy lifestyles under both subjective and objective perspectives, using tools such as written diaries or self-reports on a touch screen, messages on social networks, and motion or physiological sensors, all managed through smartphone apps (7,110).…”