Exploring culinary diversity to enhance Mediterranean diet adherence: A randomized controlled trial

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Behavioral Science
• Public Health

Background:

• Promoting diverse, healthy food options is crucial for long-term dietary changes.
• Encouraging exploration of nutritious plant-based foods may lead to lasting improvements in diet.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how the diversity of food options presented affects long-term dietary choices.
• To determine if a fixed menu or a changing menu intervention leads to greater dietary variety and adherence to healthy eating patterns.

Main Methods:

• A 6-week intervention with 211 participants randomly assigned to a fixed or changing menu group.
• Weekly food diversity reports and self-reported adherence to Mediterranean diet components (I-MEDAS) and plant-based food proportion (PBD) assessed via online questionnaires.
• Follow-up assessments at 3 and 6 months post-intervention.

Main Results:

• The fixed menu group explored significantly more food items (26.33) than the changing menu group (19.79).
• Both groups showed short-term increases in I-MEDAS and PBD scores.
• Only the fixed menu group sustained these increases at 3 and 6-month follow-ups.

Conclusions:

• Manipulating the rate of exposure to food suggestions can impact overall dietary variety.
• Early and consistent presentation of diverse food options may foster longer-term healthy eating habits.
• This study highlights the importance of intervention design in promoting exploratory dietary behavior.