Ricci Michele, Devecchi Andrea, Migliavada Riccardo, Piochi Maria, Torri Luisa
University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo, 12042 Bra, CN, Italy.
Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, 10124 Turin, TO, Italy.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2025 Jul 10;22(7):1095. doi: 10.3390/ijerph22071095.
There is a confirmed and ongoing need to encourage adherence to healthy dietary patterns in the general population in western societies, given their recognized positive impact in preventing non-communicable diseases (NCDs). A potentially very effective solution is the use of digital tools such as apps and web apps, which can reach a large number of people quickly. Still, to be effective, it is necessary to better understand how participant engagement in these interventions works, to identify the motivations that may lead them to drop out, and to evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions. In our study, an innovative web app designed to encourage adherence to the Mediterranean diet (EATMED) was tested in an intervention study, evaluating adherence to the Mediterranean diet before and after the use of the web app in a cohort of people, compared to a control group, using the MEDI-lite questionnaire. The Health and Taste Attitude Scale questionnaire was also administered to all participants to assess interest in healthy foods and diets, as well as attitudes toward food. The study showed that the score of the Food as Reward subscale of the HTAS had a significant effect on dropout from the intervention study, and that the use of the app among participants who remained resulted in a two-point increase in adherence to the Mediterranean diet, according to the MEDI-lite questionnaire. These results indicate the effectiveness of the EATMED tool and provide useful insights into how to understand and mitigate dropout in digital nutrition interventions.
鉴于健康饮食模式对预防西方社会普通人群的非传染性疾病具有公认的积极影响，目前确实需要鼓励人们坚持这种饮食模式。一个可能非常有效的解决方案是使用数字工具，如应用程序和网络应用程序，这些工具可以迅速覆盖大量人群。然而，要想发挥效果，有必要更好地了解参与者在这些干预措施中的参与方式，找出可能导致他们退出的动机，并评估这些干预措施的有效性。在我们的研究中，一款旨在鼓励人们坚持地中海饮食的创新网络应用程序（EATMED）在一项干预研究中进行了测试，通过MEDI-lite问卷，与对照组相比，评估了一组人群在使用该网络应用程序前后对地中海饮食的坚持情况。还向所有参与者发放了健康与口味态度量表问卷，以评估他们对健康食品和饮食的兴趣以及对食物的态度。研究表明，HTAS的“将食物作为奖励”子量表得分对干预研究中的退出情况有显著影响，并且根据MEDI-lite问卷，在坚持参与的参与者中使用该应用程序使他们对地中海饮食的坚持程度提高了两分。这些结果表明了EATMED工具的有效性，并为如何理解和减少数字营养干预中的退出情况提供了有用的见解。
