Development and Pilot Testing of the Snackability Smartphone Application to Identify Healthy and Unhealthy Snacks

Snacks contribute to the diet quality in youth, which is often poor. Although the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has guidelines for healthy snacks, this is lost in translation when youth are choosing snacks. To develop a user-friendly app to help identify healthy snacks based on the US Department of Agriculture guidelines and evaluate the app's feasibility, usability, satisfaction, and acceptability.

The 'Snackability' app was developed following the ADDIE (analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation) model. The app was pilot tested for 2 weeks among college-age students (18-24 years) using questionnaires and focus groups. Based on the feedback received, the app was improved, and pilot-tested again.

The app had a simple score (-1 to 11) and feedback (the higher the score, the healthier the snack is). The 1st pilot test among 12 students showed that the app's feasibility and usability were >50% (p < 0.05). Participants reported that the app was a good way to help individuals select and consume healthy snacks and suggested improving the search process and including average score reports, a 'consumed history' tab, gamification, notifications, and the option to add snacks not found. These were incorporated into the 2nd version of the app, which was pilot tested among 8 students. Feasibility, usability, and acceptability of the 2nd version were >50% (p < 0.05). Additional suggestions were to include images for serving size, snack alternatives, and barcode scanning, which were incorporated into the 3rd version.

Snackability app was feasible, usable, satisfactory, and acceptable, and several features were improved as suggested by participants.