Development of a Novel Dietary Assessment Method Using Gamification Concepts: Exploratory and Application Study.

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Behavioral Science
• Pediatric Health

Background:

• Childhood malnutrition (undernutrition/overnutrition) is a global health issue.
• Traditional dietary assessment tools like 24-hour dietary recalls (24HR) have limitations in capturing eating behaviors and preferences.
• There is a need for comprehensive dietary assessment tools for children and adolescents.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare a novel gamified dietary assessment tool (GDA) with the traditional 24-hour dietary recall (24HR).
• To evaluate the GDA's applicability in assessing dietary behavior tendencies among children and adolescents.

Main Methods:

• A 2-phase study: exploratory (n=30) and application (n=1541 adolescents aged 11-18).
• Exploratory phase compared GDA with 3-day 24HR using correlation and Bland-Altman plots.
• Application phase analyzed dietary intake and eating behavior tendencies using Kruskal-Wallis and multiple linear regression.

Main Results:

• GDA showed moderate agreement with 24HR for energy and carbohydrates; good agreement for energy intake.
• GDA overestimated protein intake and showed no significant correlation for fat intake compared to 24HR.
• Higher emotional eating linked to increased snacking and decreased intake of protein, fruits, and nuts.
• Solitary screen eaters consumed more carbohydrates than those eating with peers.

Conclusions:

• The GDA effectively captures dietary intake and contextual eating behaviors in young populations.
• GDA provides distinct data compared to traditional methods like 24HR.
• The interactive GDA offers valuable insights into food preferences and eating patterns as a complementary tool.