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Popular Diet Tracking Apps May Be Missing Hundreds of Calories, Study Finds

Popular Diet Tracking Apps May Be Missing Hundreds of Calories, Study Finds

Summary

A new study found that popular calorie-tracking apps using AI to estimate food calories from photos often underestimate calorie and fat amounts. Researchers tested four apps and discovered they missed about a third of the actual calories and fat in meals.

Key Facts

  • The study tested four photo-based food apps: MyFitnessPal, Lose It!, Cal AI, and Appediet.
  • On average, the apps underestimated calorie counts by about 250 to 345 calories per meal.
  • Fat estimates were also low by roughly 30 grams per meal.
  • The research was done using 102 carefully measured meals in a controlled kitchen.
  • MyFitnessPal and Lose It! performed better on higher-calorie meals than lower-calorie ones.
  • All apps were more accurate at estimating carbohydrates than fats or proteins.
  • Low-carb, high-fat diets were harder for the apps to accurately analyze.
  • Researchers suggest combining photo apps with traditional food tracking to improve accuracy.
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