Evaluation of PIQNIQ, a novel mobile application for capturing dietary intake

Authors: BLANCHARD, CAROLINE - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University; CHIN, MEGHAN - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University; GILHOOLY, CHERYL - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University; BARGER, KATHRYN - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University; MATUSZEK, GREGORY - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University; MIKI, AKARI - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University; COTE, RICHARD - Nestle; ELDRIDGE, ALISON - Nestle; GREEN, HILARY - Nestle; MAINARDI, FABIO - Nestle; MEHERS, DAMIAN - Nestle; RONGA, FREDERIC - Nestle; STEULLET, VERA - Nestle; DAS, SAI KRUPA - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University

Submitted to: Journal of Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/13/2021
Publication Date: 3/9/2021
Citation: Blanchard, C.M., Chin, M., Gilhooly, C., Barger, K., Matuszek, G.H., Miki, A., Cote, R.G., Eldridge, A.L., Green, H., Mainardi, F., Mehers, D., Ronga, F., Steullet, V., Das, S. 2021. Evaluation of PIQNIQ, a novel mobile application for capturing dietary intake. Journal of Nutrition. 151(5):1347-1356. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxab012.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxab012

Interpretive Summary: The collection of accurate and detailed dietary information is critical to understanding the complex role of diet in health. However, traditional methods for assessing dietary intake face issues that affect data quality and place burden on researchers and participants. Technology-based nutrition tools, which are convenient and generally preferred over traditional tools, have the potential to lessen these limitations while improving data quality. In this study, we evaluated the accuracy of a new mobile application, PIQNIQ, in measuring the nutrient and energy content of foods provided to participants. We also compared the accuracy of PIQNIQ with the 24-hour recall (24HR), a popular traditional method for assessing dietary intake. We enrolled 132 adults (aged 18 to 65 years) and provided them with meals for three days. Participants were randomly assigned to one of 3 methods to report their consumption of provided meals: simultaneous entry (recorded intake using PIQNIQ during or after mealtimes); photo-assisted recall (took photos of foods at mealtimes and used them the following day to prompt recall and record intake in PIQNIQ); and 24HR (completed a 24HR assisted by an interviewer the day after consuming each menu). In all three groups, the majority of energy and nutrients reported by participants were similar to the values of nutrients in the provided foods. Intake was highly overreported for added sugars in both PIQNIQ groups and underreported for calcium in the photo-assisted recall group only. However, both PIQNIQ methods had similar levels of accuracy and were comparable to the 24HR, except for added sugars and total fat, which were overreported. Our results suggest that easy-to-use, technology-based methods of capturing dietary intake are well suited to modern users and have the potential to produce data comparable to traditional methods.

Technical Abstract: Background: Accurate measurement of dietary intake is vital for providing nutrition interventions and understanding the complex role of diet in health. Traditional dietary assessment methods are very resource intensive and burdensome to participants. Technology may help mitigate these limitations and improve dietary data capture. Objective: Our objective was to evaluate the accuracy of a novel mobile application (PIQNIQ) in capturing dietary intake by self-report. A secondary objective was to assess whether food capture using PIQNIQ was comparable with an interviewer-assisted 24-h recall (24HR). Methods: This study was a single-center randomized clinical trial enrolling 132 adults aged 18 to 65 y from the general population. Under a provided-food protocol with 3 menus designed to include a variety of foods, participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 food capture methods: simultaneous entry using PIQNIQ, photo-assisted recall using PIQNIQ, and 24HR. Primary outcomes were energy and nutrient content (calories, total fat, carbohydrates, protein, added sugars, calcium, dietary fiber, folate, iron, magnesium, potassium, saturated fat, sodium, and vitamins A, C, D, and E) captured by the 3 methods. Results: The majority of nutrients reported were within 30% of consumed intake in all 3 food capture methods (n = 129 completers). Reported intake was highly (>30%) overestimated for added sugars in both PIQNIQ groups and underestimated for calcium in the photo-assisted recall group only (P < 0.001 for all). However, in general, both PIQNIQ methods had similar levels of accuracy and were comparable to the 24HR except in their overestimation (>30%) of added sugars and total fat (P < 0.001 for both). Conclusions: Our results suggest that intuitive, technology-based methods of dietary data capture are well suited to modern users and, with proper execution, can provide data that are comparable to data obtained with traditional methods.