September 1, 2026, 11:01 am | Read time: 5 minutes
Those looking to lose weight can use nutrition apps to track what ends up on their plate daily. But does the regularity of documenting meals affect weight loss success? Researchers examined this question using data from more than 5,000 users of a nutrition app.
More Frequent Tracking Leads to Greater Weight Loss
The more frequently users logged their nutrition, the more weight they lost over six months. Those who made entries six to seven days a week lost an average of 11.3 percent of their body weight. For those tracking less than two days a week, it was 6.8 percent.
A weight loss of at least five percent of the initial weight—a level considered significant for health—was more often achieved with frequent tracking: 80 percent of users with six to seven tracking days per week accomplished this, compared to 52 percent of those who documented their nutrition less than two days a week.
How the Study Was Conducted
Self-monitoring of one’s diet is part of many weight loss programs. Previous studies have already suggested that digital applications can help. However, it was less clear what role the frequency of nutrition tracking plays.
Therefore, researchers analyzed data from users who signed up for a nutrition app (“MyNetDiary”) in May 2025 and wanted to lose weight. Unlike in a controlled study, participants did not receive special support from the researchers but used the app independently in their daily lives.1
The evaluation included data from 5,132 adults who regularly recorded their weight and logged their nutrition on at least 21 days over six months. The main focus was on how often they tracked their nutrition and how their body weight developed. In the statistical analysis, the researchers considered factors such as age, gender, and body mass index (BMI) at the start of the study.
Further Study Results in Detail
The 5,132 users studied were, on average, 42 years old and weighed around 92 kilograms at the start. Nearly three-quarters were women. After six months, participants had lost an average of 9.3 kilograms or 9.5 percent of their initial weight.
About 70 percent reduced their weight by at least five percent, and nearly 45 percent by at least ten percent. Nine percent of participants, however, gained weight during the study period.
A clear stepwise relationship was evident: With each additional day per week that nutrition was documented, the likelihood of losing at least five percent of the initial weight increased. This relationship persisted even after researchers statistically accounted for differences in age, gender, and initial BMI.
It was not only the number of tracking days that mattered. Users who documented their nutrition for particularly long uninterrupted periods lost more weight on average. With more than 90 consecutive tracking days, the weight loss averaged 11.6 percent. For those whose longest streak lasted at most seven days, it was 4.2 percent.
Less Interruption Leads to Better Weight Loss
Interestingly, daily tracking was apparently not necessary to see a significant correlation. Users who documented their nutrition for an average of two to fewer than three days per week lost 7.35 percent of their body weight on average. More than half of them achieved a weight loss of at least five percent.
Moreover, it was not only about how often participants tracked their nutrition but also how consistently they did so. Longer uninterrupted phases were associated with greater weight loss.
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Strengths and Weaknesses of the Study
The study includes a relatively large number of users with 5,132 participants and observed their weight development over six months. The researchers also verified their results using various statistical methods.
However, the results can only be partially generalized to all users of nutrition apps. Only 1.2 percent of the originally more than 400,000 new “MyNetDiary” users were included in the analysis. They had to use the app regularly and continuously record their weight. Additionally, the participants considered were on average significantly older (42 compared to 29 years) and had a higher initial BMI (32.4 compared to 29.4) than the excluded users.
Furthermore, important influencing factors were not recorded. These include motivation, exercise, sleep, and the use of weight loss medications such as GLP-1 receptor agonists. Therefore, it is not certain what role nutrition tracking itself played in the weight loss.
Possible conflicts of interest should also be considered: Both authors work for “MyNetDiary.” One of them is also a co-founder, CEO, and shareholder of the company. According to the authors, there was no external funding.
What Previous Studies Show
The correlation between tracking frequency and weight loss success is also known from controlled studies. A U.S. research team analyzed data from 142 participants in a 24-week online weight loss program and measured weight on-site, unlike in the new analysis.2 Here, too, frequency was crucial: Those who lost at least five percent of their weight opened the nutrition diary an average of 2.4 times per day, compared to 1.6 times for those with less success. The time spent on this, however, made no difference—and it decreased during the study from over 23 to just under 15 minutes daily. Apparently, logging becomes more efficient with practice.
However, the true impact of an app is only revealed by comparison with a control group. A 2025 review summarized 11 systematic reviews with a total of 261 individual studies and more than 62,000 participants.3 The result is much more modest: Those who used an app lost an average of 1.3 kilograms more than the comparison group. The significant weight loss in the new analysis is likely only partly due to the app itself—and largely due to those who choose to track consistently and persistently.