A content and quality analysis of free, popular mHealth apps supporting 'plant-based' diets

There has been an increased emphasis on plant-based foods and diets. Although mobile technology has the potential to be a convenient and innovative tool to help consumers adhere to dietary guidelines, little is known about the content and quality of free, popular mobile health (mHealth) plant-based diet apps. The objective of the study was to assess the content and quality of free, popular mHealth apps supporting plant-based diets for Canadians. Free mHealth apps with high user ratings, a high number of user ratings, available on both Apple App and GooglePlay stores, and primarily marketed to help users follow plant-based diet were included. Using pre-defined search terms, Apple App and GooglePlay App stores were searched on December 22, 2020; the top 100 returns for each search term were screened for eligibility. Included apps were downloaded and assessed for quality by three dietitians/nutrition research assistants using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) and the App Quality Evaluation (AQEL) scale. Of the 998 apps screened, 16 apps (mean user ratings±SEM: 4.6±0.1) met the eligibility criteria, comprising 10 recipe managers and meal planners, 2 food scanners, 2 community builders, 1 restaurant identifier, and 1 sustainability assessor. All included apps targeted the general population and focused on changing behaviors using education (15 apps), skills training (9 apps), and/or goal setting (4 apps). Although MARS (scale: 1-5) revealed overall adequate app quality scores (3.8±0.1), domain-specific assessments revealed high functionality (4.0±0.1) and aesthetic (4.0±0.2), but low credibility scores (2.4±0.1). The AQEL (scale: 0-10) revealed overall low score in support of knowledge acquisition (4.5±0.4) and adequate scores in other nutrition-focused domains (6.1-7.6). Despite a variety of free plant-based apps available with different focuses to help Canadians follow plant-based diets, our findings suggest a need for increased credibility and additional resources to complement the low support of knowledge acquisition among currently available plant-based apps. This research received no specific grant from any funding agency.