A Pilot Study of Intervention With a Mobile Application Visualizing the Macronutrient Content for Type 2 Diabetes at a Japanese Center

Abstract

Background: Estimating the nutritional content of food is essential for self-management in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus, but it is a difficult skill to learn. The aim of this study was to investigate how diabetes management was impacted by the ability of patients to search for items they ate from a database of 26,300 different foods, and to visualize nutritional intake using the Japanese mobile application (app) “Calomeal.” Methods: This was a single-arm, single-center, pilot study. Eighteen outpatients with type 2 diabetes mellitus used the “Calomeal” app for 3 months. The primary endpoint was change in hemoglobin A1c (HbAlc). Secondary endpoints were changes in body weight (BW), lipid parameters, and quality of life scores. Results: The baseline characteristics of the study subjects were as follows: age: 53.4 ± 7.8 years; male/female ratio: 11/7; HbAlc: 7.9 (7.58 – 8.23)%; and body mass index (BMI): 25.17 (21.63 – 28.59) kg/m2. Significant reductions in HbA1c and BMI were observed over 3 months (HbA1c: 7.9 (7.58 – 8.23)% to 7.6 (7.3 – 8.23)%, P = 0.0410; BMI: 25.17 (21.63 – 28.59) to 24.54 (21.57 – 27.81) kg/m2, P = 0.0057). Reductions in HbA1c and BMI both correlated with decreased carbohydrate intake estimated by the mobile app. Conclusions: Japanese patients who used their smartphones to visualize their nutritional intake using the “Calomeal” app demonstrated improved short-term glycemic control and BMI. Although the validity of the results should be tested in future randomized controlled trials, this approach may be a clinical option for improving self-management in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.