Evaluation of a PDA-based Dietary Assessment and Intervention Program: A Randomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the capability of DietMatePro, a PDA-based dietary assessment program, to monitor dietary intake and to improve adherence to a dietary regimen. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SUBJECTS: Overweight and obese (Body Mass Index (BMI) 25-40) participants without dietary restrictions. INTERVENTION: Participants (n = 174) were randomized to record usual dietary intake using either DietMatePro or a paper food diary for one week to compare concordance with 24-hr recall. At the week 1 visit, participants were individually counseled to follow the diet recommendations of the Ornish Prevention Diet for three weeks and continue monitoring food intake using the assigned method to estimate adherence to the intervention by monitoring condition. OUTCOME MEASURES: Spearman correlations between week 1 24-hr recall and the assigned recording method were compared to assess validity. Mean pre-post changes in intake measured by 24-hr recall were compared according to monitoring condition to measure adherence to the Ornish diet. RESULTS: Correlations of energy and nutrient values reported on the food label ranged from 0.41 to 0.71 for the DietMatePro condition versus 0.63 to 0.83 for the paper-based diary. Diet adherence was higher among DietMatePro (43%) compared to the paper diary (28%) group (p = 0.039). CONCLUSIONS/APPLICATIONS: DietMatePro does not appear to produce more valid data than paper-based approaches. DietMatePro may improve adherence to dietary regimens compared to paper-based methods.