Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Jan 27:7:570531.
doi: 10.3389/fnut.2020.570531. eCollection 2020.

Insights Into the Delivery of Personalized Nutrition: Evidence From Face-To-Face and Web-Based Dietary Interventions

Balquees Al-Awadhi  1 , Rosalind Fallaize  1   2 , Rodrigo Zenun Franco  3 , Faustina Hwang  3 , Julie A Lovegrove  1
Affiliations
Review

Insights Into the Delivery of Personalized Nutrition: Evidence From Face-To-Face and Web-Based Dietary Interventions

Balquees Al-Awadhi et al. Front Nutr. .

Abstract

Prevention strategies for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are a global priority as it has been estimated that NCDs will account for around 73% of worldwide mortality by the year 2020. The adoption of diets that are low in saturated fat, free sugars, and red and processed meats and higher in unsaturated fats, wholegrains, fruit, and vegetables have been shown to reduce the risk of NCDs. With increasing internet use, several nutrition interventions are now being conducted online as well as face-to-face, however it is unclear which delivery method is most effective. Although a consumer preference toward face-to-face dietary advice delivery has been identified previously, interest in delivering web-based dietary advice, and in particular personalized nutrition (PN), has been rising, as internet delivery may be less costly and more scalable. This review compares published face-to-face and web-based dietary interventions to give insight into which dietary method might be more effective for PN. In total, 19 peer-reviewed randomized controlled trials were identified for inclusion in the review. The majority of face-to-face nutrition interventions were successful at facilitating dietary change. Results from web-based nutrition interventions suggested that personalized web-based nutrition interventions may be successful at inducing short-term dietary change compared to standardized dietary interventions, however, minimal evidence of long-term impact has been found across both delivery methods. Results of a trial that compared face-to-face with web-based diet intervention found significantly greater dietary changes in the face-to-face group compared to web-based and control groups. Further controlled comparative studies and cost-benefit analysis are needed to assess whether web-based methods can be used in place of face-to-face interventions for achieving dietary change.

Keywords: dietary change; face-to-face nutrition; personalized; personalized nutrition; web-based.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Literature search flowchart.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization Noncommunicable Diseases Country Profiles 2018. Geneva: World Health Organization Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0; IGO, 223 (2018).
    1. Nichols M, Townsend N, Scarborough P, Rayner M. Cardiovascular disease in Europe: epidemiological update. Eur Heart J. (2013) 34:3028–34. 10.1093/eurheartj/eht356 - DOI - PubMed
    1. de la Hunty A. The COMA report on nutritional aspects of cardiovascular disease: the scientific evidence. Br Food J. (1995) 97:30–2. 10.1108/00070709510100145 - DOI
    1. Department of Health UK Choosing Health: Making Healthier Choices Easier. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office; (2004).
    1. US Department of Health Human Services Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005. (2005). Available online at: https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/pdf/dga2005.pdf (accessed October 02, 2018).

LinkOut - more resources