Testing a Smartphone App to Support a Mediterranean Diet and Strength Exercise

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.

Inclusion Criteria: * own and use a smartphone * no contraindication to exercise on a pre-activity readiness questionnaire (PARQ) Exclusion Criteria: * pregnant or nursing * presence of a dietary allergy or food intolerance * adherence to a restrictive diet (keto, carnivore, vegan, vegetarian etc)