Previous Bournemouth University research indicated that while most adults in the UK are aware of the 5-a-day message, their grasp of how to achieve it is limited.
“Almost everyone knows they should eat five a day,” said Katherine Appleton, professor of Psychology at Bournemouth University, who led the studies and the development of the new app. “But when we looked a little further, it was clear that a lot of people did not know what counts towards the target, they did not know what a portion size is, and many did not realize that they needed to eat five different things. Our studies also showed that lower knowledge was associated with lower consumption of fruits and vegetables,” she added.
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According to Public Health England data, only one-third of adults and 12% of children aged eleven to eighteen consume the recommended amount.
What is the SMART-5-A-DAY app
The free SMART-5-A-DAY app was designed to help users understand portion sizes and see how the fruits and vegetables they eat contribute to their daily target. Users will be asked to enter how much of the fruit or vegetable they just ate after selecting it. The app will then tell them if that quantity was a full or partial portion, as well as how much more would be required to make it a full piece. It also maintains track of their progress toward the five-a-day goal.
“What is unique about this app is that as well as tracking daily fruit and vegetable intake, it teaches people about portion size, so they get to the point where they know what they need to eat themselves. We think this will be an effective tool to improve people’s diets for the long term, rather than simply for the short period that they use the app,” said professor Appleton.
Peer-reviewed research of an earlier prototype version discovered that, it improved users’ eating habits and understanding of what is required to meet the daily recommended consumption.
The version launched today includes many enhancements based on feedback from the prototype trial, which the researchers hope will result in larger changes in eating habits among its users.
SMART 5-A-DAY will be available in the Google Play Store for Android phones on December 29, 2022.
Source: Medindia
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