DIETRON LACKS WEIGHT IN THE SLIMMING BUSINESS

If you want to know about your weight and the contents of the food you have been consuming, it might be easier to read a book on slimming or dieting than to use Dietron, for the 48K Spectrum.

The program provides all the information which you are likely to want about dieting but so does a book. The other problem with the package is the number of bugs and omissions in the system.

Our reviewer entered his weight and height and was greeted with an E Out of Data error at line 56. We were able to correct that by skipping to line 60 but the error is a bad oversight and, so near to the start of the program, raises doubts of accuracy of the program data.

The application has not been very well computerised, as height and weight data have to be entered in either inches and pounds or centimetres and kilos. That means extra calculations for the user who probably calculates weight in stones and height in feet.

The program also includes a database with information on dieting hints and a full nutritional guide. It also provides a weight calculation which will tell you how many months and weeks it will take for you to reduce to a certain weight. No effort has been made to check for unusual entries and we were informed that it would take 831 months and seven weeks to reach a weight of 0 pounds. We calculate that it would take slightly longer.

The Dietron package is ingenious but we cannot say it is particularly useful. It costs £4.50 and can be obtained from computer branches of W H Smith.

PRICE: £4.75
Memory: 48K

Dietron is the only program in this review which is definitely not a game. It has a number of major functions: 1 - to work out your maximum advised weight and intake of calories according to your height, build, age, sex, etc, and 2 - it holds data on an enormous number of different foods, so that it is possible to plan a balanced meal. The data available includes protein, fiber, vitamins, etc; this section is a very comprehensive catalogue indeed.

It is also possible to load in a second program which holds information on dieting, as well as how quickly you are likely to lose those precious pounds if you cut down by a chosen amount of calories. It also explains the value of each vitamin for which data has been given for the different foods. More specifically it gives details about them, as well as the consequences of too much or too little in your diet.

This is well written and researched program which can be useful for anyone who is interested in their diet. There is a substantial amount of data in Dietron which is well worth having and using. Though all of this can be found in a book, it has been arranged in such a way that makes it far quicker and easier to use on your Spectrum.