Abstract
(1) Background: Smartphone dietary assessment apps can be acceptable and valid data collection methods but have predominantly been validated in highly educated women, and none specifically measured eating-out habits in young adults. (2) Methods: Participants recorded their food and beverage consumption for three days using the Eat and Track (EaT) app, and intakes were compared with three dietitian-administered 24-h recall interviews matched to the same days as the reference method. Wilcoxon signed-rank or t-tests, correlation coefficients and Bland–Altman plots assessed agreement between the two methods for energy and percentage energy from nutrients (%E). (3) Results: One hundred and eighty nine of 216 participants (54% females, 60% resided in higher socioeconomic areas, 49% university-educated) completed the study. There were significant differences in median energy intake between methods (p < 0.001), but the EaT app had acceptable agreement for most nutrient densities at the group level. Correlation coefficients ranged from r = 0.56 (%E fat) to 0.82 (%E sugars), and between 85% and 94% of participants were cross-classified into the same or adjacent quartiles. Bland–Altman plots showed wide limits of agreement but no obvious biases for nutrient densities except carbohydrate in males. (4) Conclusions: The EaT app can be used to assess group nutrient densities in a general population of 18-to-30-year olds.
Highlights
Young adults have experienced the fastest rate of weight gain of any birth cohort in Australia [1]
The aim of this study was to assess the relative validity of the Eat and Track (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
The present study showed generally good agreement between the EaT app and 24-h recalls for nutrient densities
Summary
Young adults (aged 18 to 30 years) have experienced the fastest rate of weight gain of any birth cohort in Australia [1]. One factor that appears to influence the diets of people in this age group is the amount of foods eaten prepared away from home, such as fast foods. More frequent consumption of fast foods has been associated with less healthy eating habits [2]. Young adult Australians consume fast foods more frequently than other age groups [3], and spend the highest proportion of their household income on eating out [4]. There have been no recent surveys on the amount and types of foods prepared and eaten away from home by young adults in Australia. Central to determining what young people are eating are valid and feasible dietary intake data collection methods
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