Standardized Methods for Evaluating Physical and Eating Behaviors: The WEALTH Cross-Sectional Study Protocol.

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Science
• Biomedical Engineering
• Public Health

Background:

• Accurate measurement of physical behaviors (PB) and eating behaviors (EB) is crucial for public health.
• Standardized methods are needed to identify daily PBs and EBs using wearable sensors.
• The Wearable Sensor Assessment of Physical and Eating Behaviours (WEALTH) project addresses this need.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop standardized methods for identifying daily PBs and EBs from wearable sensors.
• To evaluate the interaction and contexts of these behaviors.
• To describe the study design, methods, and participant characteristics.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study conducted in 5 European centers with 627 participants.
• Utilized research- and consumer-grade wearable devices for data collection.
• Employed ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) and 24-hour dietary recalls.

Main Results:

• Data from 627 participants (44% male, mean age 32.7 years, mean BMI 24.5 kg/m²) were collected.
• Machine learning (ML) models are being developed for activity classification from accelerometer data.
• Primary results are anticipated in 2026.

Conclusions:

• The WEALTH project will provide a repository of labeled data and ML models.
• A methodology for simultaneously capturing EB and PB will be available.
• This integrated system will support future research in behavior monitoring.