The PortionSize Smartphone App Pilot (PS Pilot) (PS Pilot)

Pilot Validation of an App to Estimate and Manage Portion Size: The PortionSize Smartphone App

The objective is to examine the preliminary validity, reliability and perceived participant satisfaction of the PortionSize app.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Dietary Habits

Detailed Description

Overweight and obesity are a burgeoning public health concern, yet only a small minority of smartphone apps that claim to facilitate healthy eating and weight loss incorporate evidence-based principles. Such innovations are important as humans fundamentally cannot accurately estimate portion size. Indeed, portion size estimation errors account for ~50% of the error in self-reported food intake, and data from our laboratory has demonstrated that extensive training results in only modest improvements in portion size estimation accuracy and that portion size estimates remain inaccurate. Our long-term goal is to create simple and accessible interventions that assist individuals with weight control. In particular, we aim to provide easy-to-use phone apps that allow participants to monitor the portion sizes of the foods they consume. These apps guide participants on appropriate portion sizes and provide recommendations of food groups that should be consumed. To that end, we have developed the PortionSize app. We propose to improve the accuracy of portion size measurement, as it is poorly determined by self-report measures. This will occur via the development of the PortionSize smartphone app and this pilot study will test the usability as well as preliminary validity and reliability of the app functionality.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 15

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Louisiana
    • Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States, 70808
      • Pennington Biomedical Research Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Healthy participants ages 18 to 65 in the Baton Rouge, LA area.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• BMI 18.5-45 kg/m2 based upon self-reported height and weight
• Have an iPhone and an operable Apple ID, password, and email address and is willing to use these to collect data during the study, acknowledging that data usage, and associated charges, are a result of study participation

Exclusion Criteria:

• For females, pregnancy or breast feeding
• Currently diagnosed with an eating disorder
• Disease that severely affects metabolism, including diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, or dyslipidemia
• Has gained or lost more than 10 lbs in the last 3 months
• PBRC faculty/staff member
• Has suffered serious mental illness that has resulted in serious functional impairment and has substantially interfered with one's life activities within the last 5 years
• Any other medical, psychiatric, or behavioral factors in the judgment of the Principle Investigator that may interfere with study participation or the ability to follow the protocol

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Observational Models: Case-Only
• Time Perspectives: Prospective

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Validity of Portion Size at Estimating Energy Intake in Laboratory Conditions	Compared measurements from PortionSize to weighed values in the laboratory, which is the criterion measure.	1 simulated meal collected on one day
Validity of Portion Size at Estimating Energy Intake in Free-living Conditions	Quantify the validity of the app measurements in free-living conditions compared to digital photography (the criterion measure).	Mean kcal intake over 3 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
User satisfaction	Participant ratings of the PortionSize App	August - December 2020

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Pennington Biomedical Research Center
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: John Apolzan, PhD, Pennington Biomedical Research Center; Principal Investigator: James Dorling, PhD, Pennington Biomedical Research Center; Principal Investigator: Corby Martin, PhD, Pennington Biomedical Research Center

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 31, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): November 20, 2020
• Study Completion (Actual): November 20, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 28, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 28, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): July 31, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): November 19, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 31, 2024
• Last Verified: October 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: PBRC 2019-013

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
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No