Using digital media to measure diet.

Abstract

The assessment of dietary intake with food records has traditionally been a burdensome experience for both the person keeping the records and the dietitian/nutritionist analysing the record. The advent of Smartphones with high-resolution cameras, the ability to run apps and internet connections has enabled developments in the field. Pubmed and Web of Science databases were searched for relevant articles from 2013 to present to synthesize this review. The digital methods for dietary assessment fall into three categories: apps that require digital entry of foods (researcher and commercial); digital images; and image-assisted methods. All categories have advanced substantially. Researcher apps have shown good agreement between energy and food intakes when compared with a 24-hour dietary recall but no biomarker studies were located. Commercial apps can yield valid results for energy but when used in the community with uncontrolled conditions significant omission of foods and underestimation occurs. Digital image methods whereby the participant's photos with or without audio or text messages are submitted to the researchers' server are increasingly being used. Some of these methods have been tested by comparison with energy intake estimated from doubly labelled water and demonstrate promising results. This accuracy combined with user acceptability likely means this will become the preferred method for prospective food records. Continuous capture of images is being employed to complement other methods of dietary intake that mostly underestimate energy and food intake. The potential of these new methods of capturing accurate food intake data is yet to be fully realized.