MyFitnessPal app

MyFitnessPal is an app that allows users to record food consumed and monitor their food composition through a food database. The food database is compiled by both MyFitnessPal (based in America) and users (who live globally). The primary aim of the app is to monitor energy intake and exercise output to help you achieve a range of nutrition, fitness and weight goals. Additional features of the app allow for weight and exercise monitoring and analysis of energy intake distribution through the day, monitoring of limited micronutrients (sodium, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron) and access to an online community.

You can search for the food and drink consumed, allocate an amount and link this to a main meal or snack. You can also track type and amount of exercise and record your weight.

Premium offers meal scanning and barcode scanning (which may/may not work in New Zealand), access to meal plans and workout plans, further analysis of foods contributing the most carbohydrate, protein and fat and ability to export data.

For a more detailed description of the app, see Google Play(external link) or iTunes(external link) and for a detailed review, see reviews below.

Clinical review

Reviewer: Frances Arenhold, Registered Dietitian
Date of review: October 2022
Platform: Android
Version: 22.20.0-25918
Comments: MyFitnessPal is an app for people wanting to set nutrition, physical activity and weight goals and monitor energy and/or macronutrient (carbohydrate, protein, fat) intake on a regular basis. The app is also useful for those wanting to monitor their energy output from physical activity compared to their energy intake from food.
Through guided goal setting and ongoing monitoring of food intake, weight and exercise behaviours, a user may gain an understanding of energy consumption, areas of their diet which may need to be rebalanced or insights into their daily habits. Prompts from the app to record food intake and activity and summary of daily intake and physical activity may motivate users to continue to engage and achieve their goals.
Overall, the ease of navigation, encouraging prompts for users, and comprehensive monitoring tools make this a useful app for people who are wanting to gain a greater awareness of the balance in their food consumption patterns, energy and macronutrient intakes and physical activity outputs. It allows for some personalisation of goals and adjustment of goals once working in the app. Nutrition information of food was not 100% accurate for New Zealand but within a ballpark.
Safety concerns: The accuracy of nutrient and energy intake data is limited by the food database. As this app is based in America and global users can enter food into the food database variations in composition of food compared to New Zealand foods is likely but will still provide an indicative view of energy intake. In addition the ability to visually estimate portion size by the user may also impact on the accuracy of the nutrient and energy intake. 
New Zealand relevance: The app is relevant for a New Zealand audience if used on a short term basis to grow an awareness of their food consumption behaviours and exercise output.

User review

Reviewer: Todd, Masterton
Date of review: December 2018
Comments: Easy calorie counting, barcode scanning. goal setting , accountability built in. very easy to use and track daily food intake and values. exercise inputs are very beneficial. This app helped control my 20yr long type 2 diabetes. The downside of the app is that could only put in cardio exercise and not gym workouts.

Clinical review

Reviewer: Dietitian App Review Working Group, Auckland DHB
Date of review: May 2015
Comments: This is a useful app for motivating people struggling with weight loss, who may benefit from keeping a diary and need to identify sources of excess calories in their diet.
New Zealand relevance: This is an Americanized app. Many foods are measured in imperial units and goals are based on American healthy eating guidelines.