Technological tools for assessing children's food intake: a scoping review

Area of Science:

• Dietary assessment
• Pediatric nutrition
• Health technology

Background:

• Dietary assessment in children is prone to reporting errors.
• Technological innovations offer potential for standardization and error reduction.
• Accurate dietary intake data is crucial for child health monitoring and research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and characterize technological tools for assessing children's food intake.
• To identify the features, development origins, and validation status of existing technologies.
• To provide insights for developing and utilizing dietary assessment technologies, particularly in underserved regions.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review following the Joanna Briggs Institute manual.
• Inclusion criteria focused on studies assessing dietary intake in children aged 0-9 years using technology.
• Consideration of articles on technology validation and calibration.

Main Results:

• Ninety-three eligible works were selected from over 15,000 retrieved studies.
• Forty-six distinct technologies were identified, primarily developed in Europe (37%) and North America (32.6%).
• Most tools were self-administered (65.2%), web-based (37%), and used for children over six years old (80%). 24-hour recall (24HR) was the most common traditional method incorporated (56.5%), with 47.8% of tools validated.

Conclusions:

• A diverse range of technological tools exists for assessing children's dietary intake.
• Many tools are validated and self-administered, with a focus on older children.
• Findings offer valuable information for researchers and developers, especially for enhancing technology use in areas with limited resources.