Many smart phone apps are available that help people keep track of their nutritional intake, weight goals, and food choices. See below a summary of nutrition apps and their accessibility features. Calorie ranges in these apps do not take all disabilities into consideration. Nutrition should be personalized for individuals with certain disability or for those who use mobility devices. Speak with a registered dietitian or physician before starting any diet regimen, then use these apps to stay accountable with recommendations provided by a professional.

MyFitnessPal 
Whether trying to lose or gain weight, this is an app and a website where people can log in and track their diet and exercise. After completing the health profile, MyFitnessPal will give you your estimated calorie goal. This application has some great features like an extensive food database, a barcode scanner, and a way to import recipes straight from your favorite website (online version only). The app can also sync with fitness devices like the FitBit!

Lose It! 
The goal of this app is weight loss. This app begins with a detailed questionnaire to provide personalized insights for your lifestyle.  It allows you to set a weight-loss goal for yourself and then helps you develop a timeline and calorie level for meeting that goal. You can then enter the foods you eat to keep you on track with your daily caloric goal. The more data you input, the more accurately the app can estimate a weight loss timeline.

MyNetDiary  
This app has many nutrient tracking capabilities. It has a large food data base that relates to nutrition information from the FDA. Its simple and sleek design has icons of foods as well as real picture images of food. This feature may make food tracking easier for individuals with intellectual disabilities or those who may have low literacy. It has a grocery store feature that can help you make better decisions while shopping. Simply scan the barcode of the item and the app automatically gives it an A, B, C, or D rating.

Fitbit   
The Fitbit app connects with your Fitbit wearable device, or you can input activity and nutrition on your own. See how your activity, workouts, sleep, nutrition, and stress all fit together. This free app tracks your progress over time which allows you to connect with friends, start challenges, and set personal goals. Your Fitbit can track steps and arm movement made with pushes on a wheelchair. It also tracks heart rate during physical activity. The CDC recommends 150 minutes of activity each week. If step counting isn’t for you, try tracking your active minutes with this tool.

Ate   
Ate is visual food tracker that’s main goal is to help you practice mindful eating by being more self-aware of eating habits, behaviors, and feelings. Capture meals using photos to reflect on and record why you ate. You can describe each meal and if it helped you work towards your goal by staying on track of if you were off track. This is not a calorie tracking app but one that helps you experiment with new habits to build sustainable behaviors for lasting change.

Fooducate   
Fooducate is like other calorie trackers where you input your height, weight, activity level, and weight loss goals. However, where it differs is in its Premium version which can personalize your diet plan to prevent chronic conditions. This would be a great app for someone with pre-diabetes or diabetes to control carbohydrates with diet. It helps with the person who may have chronic inflammation and may benefit from a Mediterranean diet. Someone with IBS who is struggling staying on a low FODMAP diet may also seek guidance and accountability with this app. Whether you choose the free or premium version of this app, you have access to diet advice, diet analysis based on your log, and resources to teach you about your food choices.  

Health Swap  
This app is designed to help people with Down syndrome or other individuals with intellectual disabilities make healthy lifestyle changes while improving their digital and technical skills with use of the app. The apps simple design allows an individual or caregiver to log food, activity, mood, and personal health information. The app helps with meal planning for the week, provides recipes using red, yellow, or green check marks which assist the user in making healthy choices. Based on the recipes chosen, the app generates a grocery list. When you are ready to cook, step by step instructions are provided with images. Exercise can also be recorded with the help of choosing an icon with the activity and a reel of time spent on the activity.

Updated 2/2/22