Food intake reporting among adolescents using picture and text messaging with personal mobile phones (1022.1)

Research output: Other contribution

Abstract

Dietary assessment provides valuable information in examining adolescent health. Conventional  food  recording is problematic for  adolescents  but use of technology elicits interest. We describe in this report a  food  record method  using   personal   mobile   phones . Subjects were 47 females and 23 males ages 12-18 who own  mobile   phones  with camera. Each was given a fiducial marker (FM) with their identification number and trained on the protocol for taking before-and-after pictures of their meal with the FM. Subjects were randomly assigned 6 days to report within 3 months. Reminders were sent a week and the night before  reporting  day to prepare  phones  and FM. During  reporting , subjects instantaneously sent pictures and  text  messages of foods and amounts eaten every meal to a designated email address. Research dietitians reviewed the pictures and messages the following day, resolved reported  intake  issues with the subject via  text   messaging , and collated the pictures and texts as  food  records. All  food   picture  sizes were standardized relative to a specific FM length to aid in verifying amounts eaten. Records were coded later. Reviewing, collating, and recording took 30-90 minutes/record. This novel method is suitably engaging and less burdensome to  adolescents ; however, researchers may not find it more time-efficient or cost-effective than 24-hr diet recall by phone interview.


Original languageAmerican English
Volume28
StatePublished - Apr 1 2014

Publication series

NameThe FASEB Journal

Disciplines

  • Biology
  • Family Medicine
  • Internal Medicine
  • Endocrinology

Cite this