Intended Purpose and Operation of Dietly!
Last updated: October 31, 2026 (Dietly! 0.9.0)
This function description sets out the intended purpose and the operation of the Dietly!™ desktop software (hereinafter: the Software): who uses it, what data it works with, what it calculates, what it signals and what it does not do. The Software is developed and published by Gábor Pap, sole trader (egyéni vállalkozó; trade name: Dietly!; hereinafter: the Developer), and reaches users through the Microsoft Store and the Mac App Store. This description applies to version 0.9.0 of the Software and is based on the built-in user guide (hereinafter: the Help) and on the source code; the Developer updates it with every release.
1. Basic data of the Software
Table 1: Basic data of the Software
| Item | Content |
|---|---|
| Name | Dietly! |
| Version | 0.9.0 |
| Type | nutrition planning and practice record-keeping desktop software for dietitians |
| Platform | Windows, macOS |
| Developer and publisher (licensor) | Gábor Pap, sole trader (egyéni vállalkozó; trade name: Dietly!) |
| Website | dietly.hu |
| Distribution | Microsoft Store (Windows) and Mac App Store (macOS), with a monthly subscription (with the store's trial period, if any), in two plans: Entry with up to 5 active patients, Pro with an unlimited number of patients and the Main Menu Planner. |
| Operation and data storage | The Software runs locally, on the User's computer. It stores patient data encrypted, on the same computer; the data do not reach the Developer. With sync turned on, an encrypted copy of the data is placed in the User's own cloud storage. |
2. Intended purpose and users of the Software
2.1. Users
The Software is used by a dietitian or another nutrition professional (hereinafter: the User) in their own practice. The User's client (hereinafter: the Patient) neither sees nor uses the Software. The End User License Agreement (hereinafter: the EULA) also permits personal use, but the Developer does not advertise the Software for that purpose.
2.2. Intended purpose
The Software is nutrition planning and practice record-keeping software for dietitians and other nutrition professionals. It is not intended for the diagnosis, prevention, monitoring, prediction, prognosis, treatment or alleviation of disease.
The Software replaces the User's administrative and calculation work, which in the profession is typically done on paper, in spreadsheets and in word processors. Accordingly, the Software performs the following tasks:
- a) keeping client records, consultation notes and uploaded medical reports;
- b) recording body measurements and displaying them on a chart;
- c) managing a recipe and ingredient database and calculating the nutritional value of recipes;
- d) recording the daily and weekly meal plans compiled by the User, totalling their nutrients, and outputting them as PDF documents and shopping lists.
2.3. Patients
The Software does not restrict the range of patients and does not target patients with a particular disease. The User's typical client seeks advice on weight management, lifestyle or sports nutrition; the User may, however, also keep records of a Patient who has a disease (for example a Patient with diabetes or a food allergy). Children can also be recorded as Patients; the Schofield formula serves this purpose (point 4.1).
3. Data entered into the Software
All data are entered by the User by hand. The Software does not connect to measuring instruments, laboratory systems or other IT systems, and does not read in data automatically. Table 2 shows, for each data group, whether the Software uses the data in a calculation.
Table 2: Data entered and their use
| Data group | Content | Used in a calculation |
|---|---|---|
| Basic data | name, contact details, date of birth, sex | age and sex: yes (for the basal metabolic rate formula) |
| Body measurements | weight, height, body fat percentage, skeletal muscle percentage, visceral fat; waist, hip, chest, upper arm and thigh circumference | weight, height and body fat percentage: yes; the Software places visceral fat in the bands entered by the User (points 4.1 and 4.2); it only stores the other data and displays them on a chart |
| Result sheet of a body composition analyser (optional) | fat mass (kg), fat-free mass, skeletal muscle mass, body water, phase angle, measured basal metabolic rate | the measured basal metabolic rate: yes (instead of the value calculated by the formula); the other data are only stored |
| Targets and settings | target weight, activity level, basal metabolic rate formula, whether the thermic effect of food is included, target ranges for protein, fat and carbohydrate intake | target weight: no (the Software only shows it as a target line on the chart); the others: yes |
| Allergens, disliked foods | chosen from a predefined allergen list, or as free text | yes: matched against the ingredients of the meals (point 4.3) |
| Diagnosis | free text | no; only stored and printed |
| Medications, dietary supplements | name, dosage, note | no |
| Lab results | 15 predefined parameters (for example glucose, HbA1c, cholesterol, TSH) and any number of further, freely named values | no; no reference range and no assessment |
| Consultation notes | free text, optionally with anamnesis and NCP headings | no |
| Documents | uploaded medical reports, photos (up to 25 MB per file) | no |
| Food diary | the foods the Patient reports having eaten | nutrient totals only |
| Recipes, ingredients | nutritional values, allergens (built-in database and the User's own items) | yes: nutrient calculation |
4. Calculations, warnings and recommendations
The Software calculates exclusively with formulas published in the scientific literature and with addition. It does not compile meal plans, does not recommend foods or quantities, and does not signal health risks.
4.1. Calculations
The formulas and their sources are described in the "Calculations and Their Sources" article of the Help.
Table 3: Calculations of the Software
| Calculation | Method | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| Body mass index (BMI) | weight (kg) / height² (m²) | the Patient's data sheet, PDF |
| Basal metabolic rate (BMR) | the formula chosen by the User: Mifflin–St Jeor, Harris–Benedict, Katch–McArdle, under 18 Schofield; if the User enters it, the value measured by an instrument | the Patient's data sheet, PDF |
| Daily energy needs (TDEE) | BMR × the multiplier of the activity level (PAL); if the User turns it on for the Patient, increased by the thermic effect of food (+10%); the User can change the multipliers | the Patient's data sheet, the daily calorie budget of the meal planner |
| Extra on a training day | MET value × weight (kg) × duration (hours), less the BMR for the same duration | the daily calorie budget of the meal planner on that day |
| Nutritional value of recipes and meal plans | the sum of the ingredients' nutritional values in proportion to their quantities, per portion | recipe, meal planner, PDF |
| Visceral fat band | placing the measured value in the bands entered by the User (low, normal, high, very high; entering the low and the very high band is optional); see point 4.2 | the colouring of the Patient's data sheet, chart |
4.2. The visceral fat bands
The Software contains no factory limits for the visceral fat bands: the User enters them for each measuring device, from the manufacturer's description of the body composition analyser, separately for men and for women. The bands are: low, normal, high and very high; entering the low and the very high band is optional. The classification uses the bands of the Patient's sex, and the colour code only shows the limits entered by the User. If the female bands are still missing for a device recorded earlier, the bands entered for men also apply to women, and the Software says so.
4.3. Warnings and signals
- a) Allergen match: if the User adds to the meal plan a meal in which an allergen is recorded for one of the ingredients, and the same allergen is also on the Patient's data sheet, the Software marks the meal with a red icon and asks for confirmation before adding it. The fact of the confirmed addition is recorded among the Patient's data and also appears in the export of the Patient's data (GDPR export). The signal is a simple match of two lists recorded in the Software, without interpretation. This also holds for the items of the built-in ingredient and recipe database: the signal is based on the allergen recorded there, which the User checks as well.
- b) Disliked ingredient: if the meal contains an ingredient recorded as disliked for the Patient, the Software marks it with a yellow icon; it does not ask for confirmation.
- c) Daily budget and macronutrient targets: the meal planner shows the nutrient totals of the meal plan in relation to the daily calorie budget and to the macronutrient ranges entered by the User.
- d) BMI category: on the Patient's data sheet, the name of the WHO category is shown under the BMI value (underweight, normal, overweight, obese; the category limits: 18.5, 25 and 30 kg/m²); for a Patient under 18 no category is shown, because the WHO limits apply to adults.
- e) Formula and age: if the chosen BMR formula does not fit the Patient's age (a formula developed for adults for a Patient under 18, or the Schofield formula for a Patient aged 18 or over), the Software suggests the appropriate formula in a text notice.
- f) Data entry and technical warnings: for example a missing field, an invalid number, saving, the licence.
4.4. Recommendations
The Software does not recommend a calorie target, a macronutrient ratio, a food, a portion or a follow-up date.
5. Diagnosis, lab results and data relating to disease
The Software records and prints the following data, but no calculation, signal or decision is based on them.
- a) Diagnosis: a free-text field that the User fills in from the medical report. The Software contains no list of disease codes (ICD), no disease-specific diet types and no nutrient limits.
- b) Lab results: numerical values stored by date. The Software applies no reference range, does not mark values as high or low, and does not warn of changes; nor does it display the lab parameters on a chart.
- c) Medications: a list; the Software does not check drug–food interactions.
- d) NCP note: an empty note template structured with the headings of the Nutrition Care Process (NCP); its content is written by the User.
- e) Allergens: the only health-related data that trigger a signal; see point 4.3 a). The signal is a match of two recorded lists, without interpretation.
Table 2 shows, for each data group, which data enter a calculation.
6. The role of the Software's output in determining a therapeutic diet
The meal plan is compiled by the User, meal by meal and quantity by quantity, by hand; the Software records, totals and outputs it. The steps of the workflow:
- a) At the consultation, the User records the data and sets the calorie and macronutrient target personally. The TDEE calculated by the formula is a starting figure for this, which the User can override (measured basal metabolic rate, own macronutrient range, modified PAL multiplier).
- b) In the meal planner, the User chooses the meals one by one and enters their quantities. The Software shows the daily total in relation to the target and signals an allergen match.
- c) The Software outputs the finished meal plan as a PDF document and a shopping list, which the User hands over to the Patient.
The output of the Software is therefore not a therapeutic decision, but the documentation and numerical check of the User's decision. The profession does the same work today with spreadsheets and food composition tables; the Software adds no new clinical information or interpretation to it.
7. The intended purpose in the related documents
The following documents describe the intended purpose of the Software in agreement with this function description:
- End User License Agreement (EULA), section 3 ("Intended Purpose and Liability"): the Software is nutrition planning and practice record-keeping software for dietitians and other nutrition professionals, which is not intended for the diagnosis, prevention, monitoring, prediction, prognosis, treatment or alleviation of disease, does not assess the patient and does not prescribe a diet; the calculations are estimates based on published formulas, their formulas and sources are described in the Help, and every professional decision is the task and responsibility of the professional using the Software.
- Help: in Hungarian and English, it describes the use of the Software function by function, with screenshots; the "Calculations and Their Sources" article describes the formulas and their sources. It names no diagnostic or therapeutic purpose.
- Website (dietly.hu): it presents the functions by the four modules of the Software (Patients, Meal planner, Recipe library, Ingredients), and describes the intended purpose in agreement with the EULA.
8. What the Software does not do
The Software
- a) does not make a diagnosis; beyond the WHO category of the BMI and the visceral fat band it does not assess body data, and it does not estimate the risk of disease;
- b) does not suggest a meal plan, food, portion, calorie or macronutrient target;
- c) does not interpret lab results, diagnoses or medications;
- d) does not connect to measuring instruments, does not process physiological signals and does not analyse images;
- e) does not address the Patient directly; its output goes to the User, who checks it;
- f) uses no machine learning or other non-transparent algorithm: each of its calculations is a published formula or an addition.