Electronic Dietary Intake Assessment (e-DIA): Comparison of a Mobile Phone Digital Entry App for Dietary Data Collection With 24-Hour Dietary Recalls.
BACKGROUND
The electronic Dietary Intake Assessment (e-DIA), a digital entry food record mobile phone app, was developed to measure energy and nutrient intake prospectively. This can be used in monitoring population intakes or intervention studies in young adults.


OBJECTIVE
The objective was to assess the relative validity of e-DIA as a dietary assessment tool for energy and nutrient intakes using the 24-hour dietary recall as a reference method.


METHODS
University students aged 19 to 24 years recorded their food and drink intake on the e-DIA for five days consecutively and completed 24-hour dietary recalls on three random days during this 5-day study period. Mean differences in energy, macro-, and micronutrient intakes were evaluated between the methods using paired t tests or Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, and correlation coefficients were calculated on unadjusted, energy-adjusted, and deattenuated values. Bland-Altman plots and cross-classification into quartiles were used to assess agreement between the two methods.


RESULTS
Eighty participants completed the study (38% male). No significant differences were found between the two methods for mean intakes of energy or nutrients. Deattenuated correlation coefficients ranged from 0.55 to 0.79 (mean 0.68). Bland-Altman plots showed wide limits of agreement between the methods but without obvious bias. Cross-classification into same or adjacent quartiles ranged from 75% to 93% (mean 85%).


CONCLUSIONS
The e-DIA shows potential as a dietary intake assessment tool at a group level with good ranking agreement for energy and all nutrients.
School of Molecular Bioscience, Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, Australia. anna.rangan@sydney.edu.au.
Anna M
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1815-844X
AM
Rangan
Sarah
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5661-5256
S
O'Connor
Valentina
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4091-5489
V
Giannelli
Megan Lh
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2144-1182
ML
Yap
Lie Ming
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1409-2121
LM
Tang
Rajshri
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7939-1790
R
Roy
Jimmy Chun Yu
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7736-605X
JC
Louie
Lana
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1017-5827
L
Hebden
Judy
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6728-2768
J
Kay
Margaret
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6478-1374
M
Allman-Farinelli
dietary assessment; mobile phone app; validity; young adult