Usability of mobile phone food records to assess dietary intake in adolescents

Abstract

Mobile technologies are emerging as a valuable tool to collect and assess dietary intake. Adolescents readily accept and adopt new technologies, hence, a food record application (FRapp) may provide an accurate mechanism to monitor dietary intake. We examined the usability of a FRapp in 17 free‐living adolescents. Participants (11 – 14 y) received detailed instructions and were asked to capture before and after images of all foods and beverages consumed, and enter text descriptions using the FRapp for 3–7 days. Sixteen participants used the FRapp and 1 used the phone's native camera function to capture food images. A total of 109 meals were recorded, of which 40% included a post meal image. 62% of images included all foods, beverages and a fiducial marker. Text was recorded for 10 meals without images. Only 6 participants recorded 3 meals a day. One participant reported the FRapp as being too difficult (1 meal recorded) and another recorded all meals as snacks. Of the meals recorded, 25, 24, 25, and 35 were breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, respectively. These data suggest that a FRapp can be useful for dietary intake assessment in adolescents. A detailed interactive training session, including a test meal, may increase the inclusion of all foods and beverages in the images. Additionally, a trigger is needed to remind participants to take a post image.Grant Funding Source: ARS‐USDA