Digital tools “complement, not compete with” conventional dietetic practices, study finds

30 Oct 2020 --- Using technology in combination with advice from dietitians can improve dietary intake in adults, with more personalized diet plans leading to better results. These findings suggest that digital tools complement, rather than compete with, conventional consultations with dieticians.

These are the findings of a new study from the University of Newcastle in Australia. Researchers split 50 participants into a low personalization (LoP) group and a high personalization group (HiP).

Participants were recruited via print and online marketing from the university, with 89 percent in the final study being female. 

The researchers measured the dietary intake of the two groups at baseline and 12 weeks after. 

“While we expected that the HiP group would be able to make significantly more improvement in their dietary patterns, it was still a surprise just how much they were able to improve their dietary patterns,” Megan Rollo, lead author of the study, tells NutritionInsight.  

Those who had access to digital tools and a dietitian reduced their intake of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods more than those who used self-monitoring alone. “At baseline, HiP had about 35 percent of their total energy intake coming from energy-dense, nutrient-poor (EDNP) foods and this dropped by about one third,” she adds.  

Notably, HiP’s decrease in EDNP was 7 percent greater compared to those in the LoP group. 

Personalized nutrition in the digital age
These findings may help personalized nutrition platforms gain a better understanding of what works best. Namely, the research investigates the best forms of telehealth – the digital distribution of health-related services. 

“Telehealth has the potential to improve access to nutrition support services provided by dietitians and extend the reach to people living in rural and remote areas.”

“It will also mean a better ability to standardize costs while providing more information about a person’s diet and their nutrient intake than we have been able to before,” she adds. 

Taking online assessments to the next level
Those in the LoP group complete a web-based, personalized nutrition feedback report generated using the Australian Eating Survey (AES). Results were generated instantly and participants were invited to take the survey again six weeks into the study. 

The HiP group, in contrast, was given more support, which involved structured video calls with a dietitian using the AES report. In addition, participants in this group self-monitored their diets by taking pictures of their food, while being reminded by text messages to do so.

The HiP group also completed a personalized nutrition questionnaire (PNQ). This is a tool designed to support the dietitian by identifying and prioritizing factors that the individual perceives as impacting their ability to eat healthy foods.

“Since creating this online dietary assessment tool, we wanted to test what the impact was both as a stand-alone tool and as part of telehealth services provided by dietitians. We also wanted to test the feasibility of the concept of the PNQ as a tool for dietitians,” says Rollo.  Telehealth has the potential to improve access to nutrition support services provided by dietitians. 

“We know that specific behavior change techniques enhance adherence to making healthy lifestyle changes and the components of the interventions for the HiP group were complementary to each other,” she says.     

HiP participants also set goals with the dietitians, both in the short- and long-term. 

Beyond self-monitoring                   
Rollo concludes that telehealth delivered by a dietitian could be effective at improving the dietary intake of adults, perhaps more so than self-monitoring alone. 

By collecting data prior to the consultation, the dietitian can spend more of the one-on-one time delivering personalized behavior counseling and nutrition education strategies, notes the study. 

The implications of the increasing ubiquity of information and communication technologies in daily life could provide an opportunity for dietitians to focus on higher-level skills, taking the burden of data collection off their shoulders. 

Rollo notes that many more research studies are being carried using a similar approach and further research should be conducted with more diverse populations. 

Telehealth bolstered by social distancing
NPD is tapping into the telehealth trends with launches such Proper’s sleep-aid supplements and a personalized coaching app. 

The subscription-based model taps into the growing telehealth market, which has “exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Proper notes.

Nestlé-owned personalized nutrition company Persona affirms that the global pandemic poses “tremendous” growth opportunities for the field of telehealth. 

By Missy Green