A competitive analysis was made to study different approaches to the tasks that emerged. Two of the most popular apps focused solely on food intake are Lifesum and Lose It! (Fig. 1). Fitbit and Samsung Health (Fig. 1) have a more holistic approach and are one of the most popular health & fitness apps.
Lifesum – Onboarding, Food Diary & Extra Features
Figure 2. Screenshots of Lifesum’s onboarding process, food diary and extra features.
Lose It! – Onboarding, Food Diary & Extra Features
Figure 3. Screenshots of Lose It!’s onboarding process, food diary and extra features.
Samsung Health – Onboarding, Food Diary & Extra Features
Figure 4. Screenshots of Samsung Health’s onboarding process, food diary and extra features.
Fitbit – Onboarding, Food Diary & Extra Features
Figure 5. Screenshots of Fitbit’s onboarding process, food diary and extra features.
MyFitnessPal – Onboarding, Food Diary & Extra Features
Figure 6. Screenshots of MyFitnessPal’s onboarding process, food diary and extra features.
| Feature | MyFitnessPal | Lifesum | Lose It! | Fitbit | Samsung Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES |
| Desktop | YES | NO | YES | YES | NO |
| Premium Features | YES | YES | YES | NO**Offers Fitbit Coach | NO |
| Food Diary | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES |
| Social Elements | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES |
| Exercises Tracking | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES |
| Sync with Fitness Trackers | YES | YES**Via external application | NO | YES | YES |
| Notifications / Reminders | YES | YES | YES | YES**Cannot be set by user | YES |
| Copy Food from day to another | NO | NO | NO | NO | YES |
| Add Food for Days in the Future | YES | YES | YES** For premium users | NO | NO |
| Barcode | YES | YES | YES | YES | NO |
| Selfie Progress (Body photo) | YES | NO | NO | NO | NO |
| Voice Entry | NO | NO | NO | NO | NO |
| Motivational Quotes | NO | NO | NO | NO | NO |
| Educational pieces about the app. | NO | YES | NO | NO | YES |
| Educational pieces about health & nutrition | NO | YES | NO | YES | NO |
| Photo of the food logged | NO | NO | YES | NO | YES |
| Nutritonal Information | YES** Partial info for Free Users | YES | YES | YES | YES |
| Favourite Foods | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES |
| Gamification / Badges | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES |
| Recipes | YES | YES | YES | NO | NO |
| Goal Setting | YES | YES | YES** Partial info for Free Users | YES | YES |
| Challenges | NO | YES** For premium users | YES | YES | YES |
Figure 7. Comparison table of the competitors.