Novel Mobile Application to Assess Dietary Information

Evaluation of a Novel Mobile Application to Assess Dietary Information

The study will assess the accuracy of food capture methods using a novel mobile application. This will be done by comparing the energy and nutrient content of reported foods against those of foods actually consumed (i.e., reported vs actual). Two methods of using the application will be tested:

1. During each eating occasion to report foods and amounts consumed
2. By taking photographs of every food consumed, using the camera functionality of the mobile application and using the application the following day (according to the availability of the study subjects) to report foods and amounts consumed. This is to be consistent with the concept of a 24-hour dietary recall.

One group will use a standard 24-hour dietary recall method.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Dietary Assessment
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: subjects will install a mobile app for use

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 132
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02111
      • Tufts University USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA)

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 65 years (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Generally healthy men and women 18-65 years of age
• Eats a wide variety of foods from all food groups
• 18 ≤ body mass index (BMI) < 30 kg/m2
• Ability to read and write in English
• iPhone (iOS 11 or higher) or Android phone (6 or higher) user willing to download the mobile application

Exclusion Criteria:

• Presence of active disease at screening that would prevent normal dietary intake and/or would result in weight loss (irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease, celiac disease, etc.)
• Medical complications or chronic illness that would prevent full participation (e.g., active cancer)
• Pregnant or lactating women
• Diagnosed eating disorder
• Vegetarian
• Special dietary requirements or severe allergies that prevent the consumption of major food groups (e.g., gluten free, lactose free, Halal)
• Diagnosis of a mental health condition that has not been stable within the past 6 months
• Current or previous experience with dietary data collection or analysis
• Concurrent participation in another research study at any point during the study
• Availability and access to a tablet device (iPad, Android) only
• Shift workers
• Plan to partake in vigorous physical training/ exercise during the study period (e.g., training for or running a marathon)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: OTHER
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: PARALLEL
• Masking: NONE

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
OTHER: US Healthy diet; Subjects will install a mobile app for use and will be randomly assigned to a healthy diet.	Other: subjects will install a mobile app for use; novel mobile application
OTHER: Vegetarian diet; Subjects will install a mobile app for use and will be randomly assigned to a vegetarian diet.	Other: subjects will install a mobile app for use; novel mobile application
OTHER: Mediterranean diet; Subjects will install a mobile app for use and will be randomly assigned to a Mediterranean diet.	Other: subjects will install a mobile app for use; novel mobile application

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Energy and nutrient content captured on the mobile application	During each eating occasion to report foods and amounts consumed	Day 1 intakes recorded on application after meals

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Energy and nutrient content captured on the mobile application by taking photographs of food consumed	During each eating occasion to report foods and amounts consumed	Day 1 intakes photographed on application after meals
Assess whether food capture using the mobile application is comparable with a conventional 24-hour recall.	Use of application for food capture versus 24 hour dietary recall in reporting foods and amounts consumed	Day 1 intakes will be reviewed by recall method

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Nestlé
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Sai Krupa Das, Ph.D, Tufts University USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA), Boston MA

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Blanchard CM, Chin MK, Gilhooly CH, Barger K, Matuszek G, Miki AJ, Cote RG, Eldridge AL, Green H, Mainardi F, Mehers D, Ronga F, Steullet V, Das SK. Evaluation of PIQNIQ, a Novel Mobile Application for Capturing Dietary Intake. J Nutr. 2021 May 11;151(5):1347-1356. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxab012.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): May 31, 2018
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): November 27, 2018
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): November 27, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 24, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 3, 2018
• First Posted (ACTUAL): July 6, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): April 24, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 23, 2019
• Last Verified: April 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 17.13.NIHS

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No