How Helpful Are Food-Tracking Apps?
I do my best to eat well and stay in shape. But as a mom of three, it’s often tough to remember what I’ve eaten today, or even how much water I’ve taken in.
Thankfully, a new slate of food-tracking apps—often powered by computer vision and artificial intelligence—has arrived to fill in the blank spaces in my memory, and nudge me toward a healthier existence. I downloaded a few food-tracker apps, such as BitePal, Hoot, Lose It!, and MyFitnessPal, to better understand the ins and outs of my day-to-day meals. I also talked to nutrition experts to understand what insights these apps can provide, and what their limitations are.
The overarching benefit of food-tracker apps is that they help with awareness of and accountability around what we’re eating, says Meridan Zerner, a registered dietitian in Dallas, Texas. “We’re busy humans, right? Let me pause for a second and give some thought to this and be intentional about what I’m eating,” Zerner says. “Oh gosh, I didn’t have any fiber, or I didn’t have enough iron. OK, well, let me do it differently tomorrow. Let me accommodate because now I’ve got some good feedback.”
Excerpted from Wired
