Testing a Smartphone App to Support a Mediterranean Diet and Strength Exercise
App-etite
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
1 other identifier
interventional
30
1 country
1
Brief 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.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at below P25 for not_applicable
Started Oct 2026
Shorter than P25 for not_applicable
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
Study Start
First participant enrolled
October 1, 2026
CompletedFirst Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
October 9, 2026
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
October 21, 2026
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
February 1, 2027
ExpectedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
March 1, 2027
October 21, 2026
October 1, 2026
4 months
October 9, 2026
October 13, 2026
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (5)
Mediterranean diet adherence
Adherence measured using the 14-item Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS). Total score ranges from 0 to 14, with higher scores indicating greater adherence
Baseline and week 4
Resistance training adherence
Weekly muscle-strengthening frequency (days per week) assessed using the long form of the Muscle-Strengthening Exercise Questionnaire (MSEQ).
Baseline and week 4
Application usability
Usability assessed in the intervention group using the Mobile App Usability Questionnaire (MAUQ). Higher scores indicate better usability.
Week 4 (end of intervention)
Application quality and acceptability
Assessed in the intervention group using the user version of the Mobile Application Rating Scale (uMARS), scored across engagement, functionality, aesthetics and information quality. Scoring is 1-5 (higher= better).
Week 4 (end of intervention)
Engagement with the application
Frequency of application access and completeness of dietary and resistance training records, derived from application-generated data in the intervention group.
Weeks 1-4, recorded continuously by the application
Secondary Outcomes (5)
Dietary intake
Baseline and week 4
Body mass
Baseline and week 4
Body composition
Baseline and week 4
Recruitment rate
From the start of recruitment to randomisation of the final participant (up to approximately 4 months)
Retention rate
Baseline to week 4 (end of intervention)
Study Arms (2)
Application-supported
EXPERIMENTALParticipants receive Mediterranean-style dietary serving targets and a structured resistance exercise programme as a printed booklet, together with access to the MedEx Tracker mobile application, which provides self-monitoring, progress feedback, automated reminders and load progression prompts over four weeks.
Printed booklet
ACTIVE COMPARATORParticipants receive the same printed booklet containing Mediterranean-style dietary serving targets and a structured resistance exercise programme over four weeks. No application access, progress feedback or automated reminders are provided.
Interventions
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.
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.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- own and use a smartphone
- no contraindication to exercise on a pre-activity readiness questionnaire (PARQ)
You may not qualify if:
- pregnant or nursing
- presence of a dietary allergy or food intolerance
- adherence to a restrictive diet (keto, carnivore, vegan, vegetarian etc)
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (1)
Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool, Merseyside, L3 3AF, United Kingdom
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- STUDY DIRECTOR
Richard P Kirwan, PhD
Liverpool John Moores University
Central Study Contacts
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- NONE
- Masking Details
- Blinded statistician
- Purpose
- PREVENTION
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
October 9, 2026
First Posted
October 21, 2026
Study Start
October 1, 2026
Primary Completion (Estimated)
February 1, 2027
Study Completion (Estimated)
March 1, 2027
Last Updated
October 21, 2026
Record last verified: 2026-10
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will not share
Individual participant data will not be made publicly available. The small sample size and single-site recruitment mean that participants could potentially be identified from combinations of demographic and anthropometric variables. Requests for data access will be considered on an individual basis by the corresponding author, subject to approval by the Liverpool John Moores University Research Ethics Committee and completion of a data sharing agreement.