The Nutritarian Women's Health Study (NWHS): Cohort 1

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Dietary Interventions
• Public Health

Background:

• Plant-based diets are linked to reduced chronic disease risk.
• The Nutritarian diet emphasizes micronutrient-dense, plant-rich foods.
• Online interventions offer scalable approaches to dietary changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility and outcomes of a fully-online Nutritarian diet intervention for women.
• To assess adherence, anthropometric changes, and self-reported health improvements.
• To identify barriers and facilitators to following the Nutritarian diet.

Main Methods:

• A fully-online intervention with automated email support.
• Participants self-reported dietary adherence and anthropometric measurements quarterly.
• Midpoint and adherence questionnaires assessed participant experience and challenges.

Main Results:

• Most participants adhered well to the Nutritarian diet, consuming greens, beans, berries, and seeds while avoiding animal products and refined foods.
• No significant changes in Body Mass Index (BMI) were observed; Waist-to-Height-Ratio (WHtR) showed initial increase then decrease in some groups.
• A majority reported positive health changes, though barriers included busy lifestyles and social pressures.

Conclusions:

• The online Nutritarian intervention demonstrated good adherence and perceived health benefits among women.
• Challenges in adherence included specific food items (mushrooms, tomatoes) and external social pressures.
• Fully-online dietary interventions are a viable, though not universally effective, approach requiring further evaluation.