P658 - THE ACCURACY AND USABILITY OF MOBILE DIET-TRACKING APPLICATIONS (DIET APPS) COMPARED TO A SOUTH AFRICAN DIETARY ANALYSIS SOFTWARE PROGRAM

P658

THE ACCURACY AND USABILITY OF MOBILE DIET-TRACKING APPLICATIONS (DIET APPS) COMPARED TO A SOUTH AFRICAN DIETARY ANALYSIS SOFTWARE PROGRAM

Z. Ebrahim^1,*, K. Mohideen¹, A. van Graan^1,2

¹Division of Human Nutrition, Stellenbosch University, ²SAFOODS, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa

Rationale: With the increase in smartphones and devices used, the number of health-related mobile phone applications (apps) that can enhance nutrition and physical activity is on the rise. This study aimed to investigate the usability and accuracy of diet-tracking applications (diet apps).

Methods:  

Dietary intake was assessed through 24-hour dietary recall interviews with 34 healthy adults employed at a hospital in Gauteng, South Africa. The top five downloaded diet apps were identified from the Google Play Store, and included MyFitnessPal, Lose It!, FatSecret, MyNetDiary and Lifesum. Dietary recall data was entered into all of the diet apps and FoodFinder, and nutrient analysis was then obtained. The usability of each diet app was assessed by using the System Usability Scale. Statistical Package for Social Sciences 29 was used for statistical analysis

Results: The diet apps all compared well against FoodFinder for energy estimation. Carbohydrate intake was either under-or overestimated by all the diet apps when compared to FoodFinder, with Lose It! (-30%) and MyNetDiary (18%) significantly under- and overestimating intake respectively. For protein intake, no statistically significant differences were found between all the apps and FoodFinder, but Lose It! (-14%) showed the poorest correlation between the different apps.  MyNetDiary (1%), FatSecret (2%) and Lifesum (-6%) provided good estimates for fat intake against FoodFinder.  Lose It! underestimated intake for all macronutrients including sodium intake (-27%) when compared with FoodFinder, whereas MyNetDiary (15%) overestimated sodium intake. MyNetDiary proved to be the most user-friendly app, with a score of 97.5, while Lifesum was the least, with a score of 37.5.

Conclusion: The study found MyFitnessPal and Lifesum accurately tracked energy and macronutrient intake, with MyFitnessPal performing well in usability, 

Disclosure of Interest: None declared