638-P: Feasibility of Using eButton for Dietary Management in Chinese Americans with Type 2 Diabetes

Background & Objective: Chinese Americans are at a higher risk for type 2 diabetes (T2D) than other racial/ethnic groups despite having a lower body mass index. This population has challenges in dietary management that is key for glycemic control. Leveraging wearable sensors (e.g., eButton) is promising to overcome such challenges. We aimed to assess the feasibility of the eButton for dietary management among Chinese Americans, as its effectiveness in this group remains unknown.

Methods: Chinese Americans with T2D (N=11) participated in a one-group prospective study. They wore an eButton on their chest to record their 10-day meals over two weeks. This wearable device contains a digital camera that collects dietary intake data by automatically taking pictures every three seconds. The eButton pictures were used to determine food names, volumes, and nutrient value. Individual interviews were conducted after 2 weeks to discuss their experience. We used ATLAS.ti software to thematically analyze the interviews.

Results: Facilitators included the device’s ease of use, ability to make participants more mindful, and influence on increased sense of control. Being more conscious of food intake enabled participants to eat smaller portions. Barriers include subjects’ privacy concerns, having difficulty staging the camera for pictures, and needing a record of pictures to understand the trends in glucose spikes. Suggestions for future eButton designs were adding language translations, sending reminders to turn the camera off, and automatically detecting and saving pictures of meals.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that it is feasible for Chinese Americans with T2D to use the eButton for dietary management. The practice of taking meal pictures improved their awareness of food portion sizes. Future studies are needed with adding certain features (e.g., saving pictures), larger sample sizes, and a longer duration of wearing to inform effective dietary management for Chinese Americans with T2D.