Beliefs and attitudes on healthy habits of patients showing interest in using PROTEIN, a health application for PeRsOnalized nutriTion for hEalthy living

Abstract

Background/Introduction: Our Western lifestyle is characterized by an irregular and poorly balanced dietary pattern and insufficient PA. Purpose: The digital health application PROTEIN, developed within the H2020-RI-project PROTEIN (https://protein-h2020.eu/), aims to engage people in a healthy, nutritionally sound and active lifestyle. To obtain information on acceptability, usability, feasibility and preliminary effectiveness, pilots are being conducted in various countries. Results: from these pilots aim to guide the development of personalized nutrition applications. Methods: In Belgium, a pilot study was implemented between May–October 2022. Participant attitudes and beliefs about their diet and PA were assessed by means of the readiness to change questionnaire. Their habits, including smoking, diet (MEDAS), alcohol consumption, (AUDIT) and PA (IPAQ) were evaluated at baseline and at 4 weeks of FU. Herein we describe attitudes and beliefs around their lifestyles. Results: Twenty-three patients with overweight/obesity (n ¼ 19$) and 17 patients with CVD (n ¼ 8$) volunteered to test PROTEIN. On average, participants were 48.5 years old (19–76), with a BMI of 29.5 (16.7–41 kg/m2 ). 43% believed they were sufficiently active, 43% thought they were not. Six patients did not know how to rate their PA. The majority (77.5%) was convinced that they would be more active, while 22.5% didn’t think they would change their PA behavior. 72.5% thought they could maintain an active lifestyle over a longer duration. Twenty-one participants reported not having a healthy diet compared to 45% who believed that they were eating healthy. 83% of participants were motivated to eat healthier in future. Conclusions: Individuals who endeavour to use PROTEIN are diverse with regard to beliefs about their nutritional and PA behaviour, though most participants were motivated to implement a healthier lifestyle. It remains to be established whether PROTEIN is sufficient to support users in adopting a healthier lifestyle.