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.


METHODS
Randomized controlled trial.


METHODS
Overweight and obese (Body Mass Index (BMI) 25-40) participants without dietary restrictions.


METHODS
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.


METHODS
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
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.
Beasley
Jeannette M
JM
Personal Improvement Computer Systems, Inc., Reston, Virginia, USA. jbeasley@jhsph.edu
Riley
William T
WT
Davis
Amanda
A
Singh
Jatinder
J
D034201:Computers, Handheld; D015930:Diet Records; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000178:diet therapy*; D010349:Patient Compliance; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric