Validity of New Technologies That Measure Bone-Related Dietary and Physical Activity Risk Factors in Adolescents and Young Adults: A Scoping Review

Abstract

New technologies may improve the validity of dietary and physical activity assessment and thereby associated findings for lifestyle-related bone health research. This scoping review mapped the evidence for the validity of new technologies that measure bone-related dietary and physical activity risk factors in adolescents and young adults. A systematic literature search was conducted using seven electronic databases for peer-reviewed studies published from January 2008 to 2021. Four studies from four countries were deemed eligible and included in the qualitative synthesis for this review. Two studies assessed diet, reporting the validity or usability of apps. Apps were shown to be a valid tool to measure the dietary intake of vitamin D (r = 0.84) and calcium (r = 0.63). Two studies assessed physical activity and reported the validity of wearable devices to measure impact loading. Hip-worn raw acceleration output correlated positively with ground reaction forces (GRF) for both studies (r range = 0.50–0.87), but wrist-worn accelerations and loading outcomes differed between studies, reporting poor to strong correlations (r range = 0.17–0.87). More research to provide robust evidence concerning validity, reliability, usability and engagement for the use of newer technologies is needed for future diet and physical activity bone research.