Intensive Weight Management Programme - Self-monitoring dietary intake using smartphone applications

Introduction

Smartphones have become a powerful tool for self-monitoring food and drink intake. They offer a convenient and discreet way to log meals and drinks throughout the day, reducing the need for traditional paper food diaries or calorie reference books. These technologies are particularly useful in social settings, as they can be used to look up nutrition information or log food and drink consumption without the fear of judgment.

The integration of smartphones with self-monitoring technologies can improve adherence to self-monitoring and provide health-care professionals with a more efficient way to track dietary intake. However, these tools should not be viewed as standalone interventions but as part of a comprehensive nutritional counselling.

Is monitoring using app technology mandatory?

It is not mandatory to use app technology to monitor dietary intake. However, many people find it beneficial to observe trends of eating habits and monitor their progress towards meeting their goals (protein intake, keeping below a certain calorie target, drinking enough fluids etc.). Different aspects of diet can be monitored including calorie, macronutrient distribution (fat, carbohydrate, protein), fluid and vitamin and mineral intake.

Apps can also be used to create recipes using the ingredients in adjustable quantities and can be saved as a meal to help with future tracking of nutritional profile. This feature is especially useful for main meals that are often prepared at home.

The main aspects to be monitored during the Intensive Weight management include: calorie, protein and fluid intake. Protein, carbohydrates and fat represent the most accurate data in the nutrition tracking apps. Data for micronutrients and fibre tend to be less reliable as they are sometimes not being inputted in the app databases.

Some app users prefer to track their nutritional intake long term to enable checking into a specific day or week to identify whether food intake contributed to non-anticipated results (such as weight maintenance rather than loss). The apps can also be used to confirm that diet is still within the recommended range of calories and protein after a period of continuous use.

How you would like to plan and utilise the benefits of dietary intake tracking can be discussed with the member of the team seeing you.

We do not recommend any specific app. A basic free account is sufficient for the purposes of the Intensive Weight Management Programme as all these apps can cover protein, carbohydrate and fat tracking. Some users find the app interface of some of the apps more user friendly and thus decide to download those on their phones.

Summary

Research has shown that using nutrient intake monitoring apps can be beneficial for long-term adherence to weight loss programmes and continuous progress, especially when used under the guidance of dietitians. Furthermore, the analysis provided by those mobile apps can be useful to target modifications in diet for specific food groups such as increase in fibre or protein and decrease in sugar.

Short-term or long-term use can be considered as well as the mode of use under clinical guidance.