JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Digital technologies, particularly the use of mobile apps, have evolved dramatically in recent years. The large number of “Nutrition and Diet” (ND) apps and their numbers of downloads indicate that there is great interest in diet monitoring and assessment.

Objective:

We sought to explore the perspectives of end-users on the features, current use, and acceptance of ND mHealth apps.

Methods:

A multidisciplinary team designed and setup the survey and before its release, it has been pilot-tested by 18 end-users. A 19-question survey was finally developed which has been translated into six languages; EN, DE, FR, ES, IT, EL.

Results:

End-users (n=2382) (79.4 female, 19.9% male, 0.7% neither) with a mean age of 27.2(SD: 8.5) completed the survey. Around half of the participants (51.5%) have used a ND app. The primary criteria for selecting such and app were to be easy to use, free of charge and also produce automatic readings of caloric and macronutrient content (i.e. food type and/or the portion size are estimated by the system without any contribution by the user). An app is less likely to be selected if it wrongly estimates portion size, calories or nutrient content. Moreover, other important limitations include the use of a database that comprises non-local foods and which may omit major foods.

Conclusions:

This comprehensive study in a mostly European population assessed the preferences and perspectives of (potential) ND app users. Understanding user needs will benefit both researchers who work on tools for innovative dietary assessment, as well as those who assist research on behavioural changes related to nutrition.