title: An electronic system (PDA) to record dietary and physical activity in obese adolescents; data about efficiency and feasibility.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recently, the prevalence of childhood obesity is increasing significantly. Dietary and physical activity registers are frequently referred to as the "cornerstone" of behavioral weight control programs. Mobile devices such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) are showing their usefulness to facilitate these self-registers.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study is aimed to analyze and compare the efficiency and feasibility of a PDA and Paper and Pencil (P&P) registers to record dietary and physical activity in a sample of Spanish adolescents with overweight.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sample was composed by 30 overweight participants aged 9-15 years seeking for obesity treatment. This is a counterbalance study, all participants completing both experimental conditions: PDA and P&P registers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For dietary records, participants filled out more records using P&P than PDA when "total" number of self-registers was considered, but when "complete" records were taken into account, these differences disappeared, and when percentages of "complete" records were analyzed, PDA produced more accurate registers than P&P. For physical activity, PDA produced more records than P&P. PDA was the preferred system. According to participants, the PDA´s strengths are the comfort, easiness to use and to transport.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results showed that P&P produced more incomplete dietary records than PDA. PDA is a reliable system that allows the clinician to be confident in the data recorded. Recently, several applications for mobile devices have been developed, but there are few studies supporting evidence of their efficacy and feasibility in assessment and treatment of childhood obesity. This study tries to provide some evidence in this field.
authors: Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment- Universidad de Valencia. Spain.. elia.oliver.gasch@gmail.com.
authors: Elia
authors: E
authors: Oliver
authors: Department of Basic Psychology, Clinical and Psychobiology. Universidad Jaume I. Castellón. Spain..
authors: Rosa M
authors: RM
authors: Baños
authors: Hospital General. Valencia. Spain..
authors: Ausiàs
authors: A
authors: Cebolla
authors: CIBER Fisiopatología Obesidad y Nutrición (CB06/03). Instituto Carlos III. Spain..
authors: Empar
authors: E
authors: Lurbe
authors: CIBER Fisiopatología Obesidad y Nutrición (CB06/03). Instituto Carlos III. Spain..
authors: Julio
authors: J
authors: Alvarez-Pitti
authors: CIBER Fisiopatología Obesidad y Nutrición (CB06/03). Instituto Carlos III. Spain..
authors: Cristina
authors: C
authors: Botella
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D034201:Computers, Handheld; D004032:Diet; D015930:Diet Records; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009765:Obesity / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results