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Testing a Smartphone App to Support a Mediterranean Diet and Strength Exercise
Sponsor: Liverpool John Moores University
Summary
Eating a Mediterranean-style diet and doing regular resistance training are both known to lower the risk of heart disease. However, most people find it hard to stick to these habits over time, and few smartphone apps support both diet and strength training together. This study tests a smartphone app called MedEx Tracker, which was developed by the research team. The app lets people record what they have eaten against a set of Mediterranean diet targets, record the weight and repetitions for each set of their resistance training, and see how they are doing through a progress screen. It also sends reminders during the day and suggests when to increase training weight. Healthy adults aged 18 to 55 will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. Both groups will be given the same Mediterranean diet targets and the same strength training programme. One group will receive this through the app; the other will receive it as a printed booklet. This means any difference between the groups should be due to the app itself rather than to different advice. Everyone will attend the laboratory before and after the four weeks for measurements and questionnaires. The main aim is to find out whether the app is usable and acceptable to participants, and whether it helps people stick to a Mediterranean-style diet and a resistance training programme. The findings will be used to decide whether the app is suitable for a larger future study.
Official title: App-etite for Change: A Four-Week Feasibility Randomised Controlled Trial of a Smartphone Application to Support Adherence to a Mediterranean-Style Diet and Resistance Exercise
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - 55 Years
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
30
Start Date
2026-10
Completion Date
2027-03
Last Updated
2026-10-27
Healthy Volunteers
Yes
Interventions
MedEx Tracker
MedEx Tracker is a purpose-built cross-platform smartphone application developed by the research team to support adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet and a resistance training programme. Participants record daily servings of six food groups and weekly servings of five further food groups against defined targets, with serving definitions available within the application. Resistance training is recorded at the level of individual sets, capturing the load lifted and repetitions completed, with demonstration videos, automated prompts to increase or reduce load based on previous performance, and an inter-set rest timer. A progress dashboard displays a computed daily and weekly dietary compliance percentage, sessions completed, and seven-day activity calendars. The application also provides a library of Mediterranean diet-aligned recipes and delivers automated reminders three times daily for diet and every alternate day for exercise.
Printed dietary and resistance exercise programme
A printed booklet containing Mediterranean-style dietary serving targets with accompanying serving size definitions, and the prescribed resistance exercises with written technique guidance and load progression criteria. Participants are asked to follow the programme to the best of their ability over the four-week study period.
Locations (1)
Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom