The Study
Reliability and Validity of Nutrient Assessment Applications for Canadian Endurance Athletes: MyFitnessPal and Cronometer
This study checked how well two food-tracking apps (MyFitnessPal and Cronometer) calculate nutrients by comparing them to an official Canadian food database. It’s like checking if two calculators give the same answer when doing the same math problem — it shows which one is more accurate, but doesn’t prove that using either app will help people eat better or get healthier.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
Two food tracking apps were tested to see how well they measure what athletes eat.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 543 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1If you're an athlete tracking your diet, Cronometer gives more trustworthy numbers than MyFitnessPal.
- 2Cronometer matched the official nutrition numbers closely for most nutrients.
- 3MyFitnessPal did not.
- 4Cronometer was consistent between users; MyFitnessPal gave very different results for salt and sugar.
- 5Cronometer overestimated fibre, vitamin A, and D slightly.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics
Year
2025
Authors
O. Morello, L. McPhee, M. Kucab, Nick Bellissimo, Julia O. Totosy de Zepetnek
Related Content
Claims (5)
Cronometer is a food-tracking app that gives very consistent results when different people log the same meals — especially for endurance athletes in Canada — so researchers and doctors can trust it for accurate diet tracking.
Cronometer does a pretty good job tracking calories and key nutrients like carbs, fat, and protein for Canadian endurance athletes — its numbers are very close to the official nutrient database.
MyFitnessPal isn't very accurate for tracking calories and nutrients in Canadian endurance athletes — it often gets protein wrong for men and overestimates calories and carbs for women, so it might not be good for serious diet planning.
MyFitnessPal isn’t very reliable when it comes to tracking sodium and sugar — different people log the same foods differently, especially men, so it might not be good for studies or health advice.
The Cronometer app tends to show higher amounts of fibre and vitamins A and D in the diets of Canadian endurance athletes than what's actually in the official Canadian food database — probably because it counts fibre differently and includes fortified foods from other countries.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.