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Personal Digital Assistants are Comparable to Traditional Diaries for Dietary Self-Monitoring During a Weight Loss Program

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Dietary self-monitoring is considered the core of behavioral weight control programs. As software for personal digital assistants (PDA) has become more available, this study investigated whether the use of a PDA would improve dietary self-monitoring frequency and subsequent weight loss over the use of traditional paper diaries. One-hundred-seventy-six adults (BMI 25–39.9) participated in a 6-month behavioral weight control program. Treatment subjects (n = 61) were provided with a PalmZire 21 with Calorie King’s Diet Diary software installed. Their self-monitoring habits and weight loss were compared with the results from a previous program (n = 115) which followed the same protocol using paper diaries for self-monitoring. No significant differences in weight loss or dietary self-monitoring were found. More frequent self-monitoring correlated with weight loss in both groups (p<.001). People seeking to lose weight should be encouraged to self-monitor and be matched with a mode of self-monitoring that is fitting to their lifestyle and skills.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This study was supported by NIH Grant R01-DK056746 awarded to Dr. Harvey-Berino and the Vermont Agricultural Experiment Station. We thank CalorieKing for their support, Paul Buzzell, MS, for assistance with the Website and setting up the PDAs, and Amy Starinski for help with data coding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Vermont, 108 Morrill Hall, Burlington, VT, 05405, Canada

    Bethany A. Yon, Rachel K. Johnson, Jean Harvey-Berino &  Beth Casey Gold

  2. Academic Computing Services, University of Vermont, Burlington, Canada

    Alan B. Howard

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  1. Bethany A. Yon
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  2. Rachel K. Johnson
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  3. Jean Harvey-Berino
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  4. Beth Casey Gold
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Correspondence to Rachel K. Johnson.

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Yon, B.A., Johnson, R.K., Harvey-Berino, J. et al. Personal Digital Assistants are Comparable to Traditional Diaries for Dietary Self-Monitoring During a Weight Loss Program. J Behav Med 30, 165–175 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-006-9092-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-006-9092-1

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