Abstract
The ability to comprehensively assess the diet of infants is essential for monitoring adequate growth; however, it is challenging to assess dietary intake with a high level of accuracy. Infants rely on surrogate reporting by caregivers. This study aimed to determine if surrogate reporters (e.g., caregivers) could use an image-based mobile food record adapted (baby mFR) to record infants’ eating occasions, and via caregiver feedback, could assess the usability and feasibility of the baby mFR in recording infants’ diets. This was a cross-sectional study in which surrogate reporters (e.g., caregivers) recorded all food and beverage intake (including human milk) of the infant over a 4-day period. Trained research staff evaluated all images submitted during data collection for different indicators of quality. All surrogate reporters were asked to complete a usability questionnaire at the end of the 4-day data collection period. Basic descriptive analyses were performed on the infants 3–12 months of age (n = 70). A total of 91% (n = 64) of surrogate reporters used the baby mFR to record their infants’ eating occasions. The mean number of images submitted daily per participant via the mFR was 4.2 (SD 0.2). A majority of submitted images contained the fiducial marker and the food and/or beverage was completely visible. The mFR was found to be easy to use; however, suggestions were provided to increase utility of the application such as the inclusion of a bottle button and reminders. An image-based dietary assessment method using a mobile app was found to be feasible for surrogate reporters to record an infant’s food and beverage intake throughout the day.
Highlights
A total of 70 infants and their surrogate reporters participated in the study
Improvements were related to the icons used such as, “A simple example of before and after pictures would have been better instead of three babies making it too busy icons”, as well as for other features “I would suggest having a bottle option on the menu to select the number of ounces instead of needing to take a picture of it”, “Would be nice to add texts and self-identify what it is”, and “more reminders”. This is the first study to evaluate the use of an image-based novel dietary assessment application, the baby mobile food record (mFR), to capture the diet of Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and/or Filipino infants 3–12 months of age, a population underrepresented in research [21]
These results indicate that the mFR is a feasible method to conduct dietary assessment in infants
Summary
Adequate nutrition is important for achieving normal growth and development during infancy. Dietary assessment is an integral component of infant growth monitoring [1]. The accuracy of the assessment of complementary feeding and dietary intakes in infants is reliant on surrogate reporting by caregivers. Surrogate reporting is influenced by the amount of time spent with the infant and knowing the full details of any food prepared elsewhere (e.g., at daycare) during the assessment period. A systematic review concluded weighed food records provided the best estimates of energy as estimated by doubly labeled water for children 0.5–4 years of age [2]. This method, places a much higher burden on those undertaking the recording (aka infant surrogate reporters)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
