A Tool to Measure Young Adults’ Food Intake: Design and Development of an Australian Database of Foods for the Eat and Track Smartphone App

Abstract

BackgroundDietary assessment is reliant on the collection of accurate food and beverage consumption data. Technology has been harnessed to standardize recording and provide automatic nutritional analysis to reduce cost and researcher burden.ObjectiveTo better assess the diet of young adults, especially relating to the contribution of foods prepared outside the home, a database was needed to support a mobile phone data collection app. The app also required usability testing to assure ease of entry of foods and beverages. This paper describes the development of the Eat and Track app (EaT app) and the database underpinning it.MethodsThe Australian Food and Nutrient Database 2011-13, consisting of 5740 food items was modified. Four steps were undertaken: (1) foods not consumed by young adults were removed, (2) nutritionally similar foods were merged, (3) foods available from the 30 largest ready-to-eat food chains in Australia were added, and (4) long generic food names were shortened and simplified. This database was used to underpin the EaT app. Qualitative, iterative usability testing of the EaT app was conducted in three phases using the “Think Aloud” method. Responses were sorted and coded using content analysis. The System Usability Scale (SUS) was administered to measure the EaT app’s perceived usability.ResultsIn total, 1694 (29.51%) foods were removed from the Australian Food and Nutrient Database, including 608 (35.89%) ingredients, 81 (4.78%) foods already captured in the fast food chain information, 52 (3.07%) indigenous foods, 25 (1.48%) nutrients/dietary supplements, and 16 (0.94%) child-specific foods. The remaining 912 (53.84%) foods removed were not consumed by young adults in previous surveys or were “not defined” in the Australian Food and Nutrient Database. Another 220 (3.83%) nutritionally similar foods were combined. The final database consisted of 6274 foods. Fifteen participants completed usability testing. Issues identified by participants fell under six themes: keywords for searching, history list of entered foods, amounts and units, the keypad, food names, and search function. Suggestions for improvement were collected, incorporated, and tested in each iteration of the app. The SUS of the final version of the EaT app was rated 69.ConclusionsA food and beverage database has been developed to underpin the EaT app, enabling data collection on the eating-out habits of 18- to 30-year-old Australians. The development process has resulted in a database with commonly used food names, extensive coverage of foods from ready-to-eat chains, and commonly eaten portion sizes. Feedback from app usability testing led to enhanced keyword searching and the addition of functions to enhance usability such as adding brief instructional screens. There is potential for the features of the EaT app to facilitate the collection of more accurate dietary intake data. The database and the app will be valuable dietary assessment resources for researchers.

Relative Validity of the Eat and Track (EaT) Smartphone App for Collection of Dietary Intake Data in 18-to-30-Year Olds

“…The EaT app was developed by nutrition and information technology experts at the University of Sydney for the purposes of data collection for the MYMeals study specifically, and is based on the e-DIA app the researchers developed previously that was validated for nutrients and food groups [14,15]. Key usability modifications to the e-DIA app were the addition of a large, branded fast food database and improved usability functions (for more information on the development of the EaT app, see [18]). The nutrition database underpinning the EaT app included 4046 foods and beverages from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ AUSNUT 2011–2013 database [21], and 2229 food items from the largest chain outlets in Australia [18,22].…”

“…Key usability modifications to the e-DIA app were the addition of a large, branded fast food database and improved usability functions (for more information on the development of the EaT app, see [18]). The nutrition database underpinning the EaT app included 4046 foods and beverages from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ AUSNUT 2011–2013 database [21], and 2229 food items from the largest chain outlets in Australia [18,22]. The fast food items are categorised by outlet name and the range of portion sizes of foods and beverages available at the outlet, for example, small, medium or large fries, to enhance recording and overcome previously reported difficulties in portion size estimation [14,15,17].…”

“…Participants were provided with written and video instructions on how to use the EaT app prior to starting the study, and could access these resources throughout the study period from the MYMeals study website [5]. Participants using the EaT app selected an eating occasion (Breakfast; Lunch; Dinner; or Snacks and Drinks) from the landing screen of the EaT app [18]. A free-text box appeared, and participants typed in the food they had eaten.…”

“…), and where the food was sourced. Participants also received a portion measures booklet [24] to assist with estimating portion sizes during recording [18]. If a participant was unable to find a particular food they consumed, they could enter it manually.…”

“…The Eat and Track (EaT) smartphone application is a new app for collection of dietary intake data, purpose-designed by the research team [18]. The aim of this study was to assess the relative validity of the EaT app with dietitian-administered 24-h recalls, examining energy and nutrient densities in a sample more inclusive of the Australian young adult population with respect to education and socioeconomic status.…”