Internet and cell phones offer help as new diet aids

Sprint's MyFoodPhone is one of the breakthrough programs.
By ERICA ORDEN
LONG ISLAND NEWSDAY
It's no secret that the fad diet is both the friend and foe of the weight-loss set. From the Atkins diet to the South Beach diet to that old classic, the grapefruit diet, quick fixes for weight loss are irresistible and around every corner.
But as most dietitians will tell you, the only nearly foolproof way to drop the pounds is the time-tested method of calorie-counting. Recording every bite of pizza, nibble of Rocky Road and dollop of whipped cream in a food log, they say, is a dieter's best bet.
Now, many dieters are finding there's an update to that old-fashioned technique: an array of convenient, portable, high-tech ways to help them document their dessert (or lack thereof).
Among these new toys is MyFoodPhone, a service offered through Sprint that allows dieters to photograph meals and snacks with their camera phone before they eat, then instantly upload the pictures to their online MyFoodPhone account. Every two weeks a "nutritional adviser" checks the account and delivers feedback via the Web about portion sizes, nutritional content and general eating habits in the form of a video clip or notes.
Though the service, which costs $9.99 per month in addition to the cost of a user's phone plan, has been around since late 2004, its Quebec-based distributor only established a partnership with Sprint in the United States in February. But though MyFoodPhone, according to a spokesman for the company, is the first service to use mobile phone cameras as a diet aid, it's just the latest addition to a growing number of mobile services that offer food logging and nutritional encyclopedias.
Weight Watchers was in the forefront of the trend, offering a version of its point-tracking system for use on Palm Inc. handheld devices as early as late 2004, through a service called Weight Watchers "On-the-Go."
"We surveyed our customers, and they made clear that they [wanted to] carry something with them to make smart choices," says Scott Parlee, director of product development for WeightWatchers.com. On-the-Go contains a full list of point values for various foods as well as for products at dining establishments such as Subway, Starbucks and Cold Stone Creamery.
And though the company doesn't release user data, it says On-the-Go's success has sparked plans to develop applications for alternative technologies in the near future.
In addition to the Weight Watchers application, Palm also hosts "Diet & amp; Exercise Assistant" ($19.99 for a onetime download), one of the company's most popular downloadable applications, which calculates a daily food budget in addition to allowing users to track their food intake.
Cell phone popularity
And MyFoodPhone isn't the only service to seize upon the popularity of downloadable software for cell phones.
Verizon Wireless hosts two different applications, Diet Fitness Diary ($1.99 per month) and Diet TinyAssist ($5.49 for a onetime download), both of which allow users to track every last cheese puff they pop in their mouths through encyclopedic databases of nutritional information.
Problems
Although the latest mobile diet devices offer certain obvious advantages, namely convenience, low cost relative to personal nutrition counseling and the ability to record reams of information, they're not entirely worry-free. Some nutritionists and dietitians have mixed reactions to the services and say there may be some hidden drawbacks to these tools.
Most pressing is the health risk associated with programs that need to be self-administered and don't involve direct contact with a certified nutritionist, nurse or doctor. (Though the MyFoodPhone nutritional advisers are trained by the company in portion control and general nutrition information, they aren't certified nutritionists.)
As a result, some experts say the programs should be supplemented with professional care. "As people lose weight, some conditions, such as diabetes, can be affected by dieting and may require a diet that's tailored to them," says Emily Marcus, a nutritionist at the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System's Center for Weight Management in New Hyde Park, N.Y.
Marcus says a handful of her patients have inquired about the new applications. "Before anyone starts any type of weight loss program, they should visit their physician," she advises.
But the less obvious pitfall of such programs is that they ignore what for many people is a crucial component of dropping pounds: overcoming the emotional and mental barriers to success. "Discussing food issues and relationships with food is a challenge and an intimate thing," says Rebecca Appleman, a nutritionist with Joy Bauer Nutrition in Manhattan, "so sometimes there's a benefit to speaking to a real human being, face-to-face."
Though Appleman endorses keeping a detailed food record, she says that the emotional components of dieting can prevent clients from reaching their goals just as much as their portion control or overall calorie consumption may influence their success. "My clients can discuss other behavior or other choices that might be affecting their nutrition," she says. "I'm not sure they're getting that supervision with these services."