Speech Recognition-Based Dietary Assessment Tool for Older Adults: Validation and Usability Study

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Nutritional Science
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Global population aging necessitates accurate and feasible dietary assessment for older adults.
• South Korea and the Asia-Pacific region face rapid population aging, increasing the need for effective nutritional monitoring.
• Conventional dietary assessment methods present challenges for older adults due to cognitive, functional, and literacy limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the validity and usability of a speech-based dietary assessment tool.
• To compare speech-recording (SR) method estimates with traditional pen-and-paper food diaries (FD) in older adults.

Main Methods:

• A randomized crossover study involving 18 adults aged ≥65 years.
• Participants completed 3-day dietary assessments using both SR and FD methods over nonconsecutive periods.
• Nutrient intake comparison via Bland-Altman plots and usability assessment using the System Usability Scale (SUS).

Main Results:

• Mean daily nutrient intakes were broadly similar between SR and FD methods, with small mean differences for most nutrients.
• Speech-recording (SR) showed higher usability ratings (mean SUS score 72.78) compared to food diaries (FD) (mean SUS score 66.25).
• Individual-level variability was observed, particularly for cholesterol, and further research is needed for increased precision.

Conclusions:

• Speech-recording (SR) dietary assessment is a feasible approach for older adults, offering comparable nutrient estimates to food diaries.
• The SR method presents modestly higher usability, indicating potential as an alternative to traditional methods.
• Larger sample studies are recommended to further validate and refine the SR dietary assessment approach.