Effect of a digital health intervention based on the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population on diet quality: a randomized clinical trial nested to the NutriNet-Brasil Coorth Study

• Grant number: 24/07662-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: November 01, 2024
• End date: October 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Collective Health - Epidemiology
• Principal Investigator: Maria Laura da Costa Louzada
• Grantee: Kamila Tiemann Gabe
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Saúde Pública (FSP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 22/05636-0 - Program of population studies on the consumption of ultraprocessed foods and health, AP.TEM

Abstract

Introduction: The Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population (2014) has a golden rule "always prefer fresh and minimally processed foods and its culinary preparations to ultra-processed foods". The "Prevention of diseases with the Brazilian diet: the PREDIBRA randomized clinical trial" project, initiated in January 2024, aims to evaluate the effects of the increased adherence to these guidelines on health outcomes through a digital health intervention among participants from the NutriNet Brazil Cohort Study. The current project encompasses the initial steps of the PREDIBRA. Its aims are the development and registration of the study's protocol, as well as to assess the effectiveness of the digital intervention in promoting dietary changes in this population. Methods: Randomized clinical trial. The protocol will be registered in the Brazilian Clinical Trials Registry platform (ReBec). The intervention will last six months and will consist of a mobile application for food and nutritional education alongside monthly teleconsultations with nutritionists. Participants from NutriNet Brazil (n=2760) will be recruited and randomized into four arms: two intervention groups (1 - application and teleconsultations, and 2 - application only) and two control groups (1 - application without dietary messages, and 2 - no intervention). Dietary change will be assessed through dietary intake indicators based on food processing obtained from 24-hour dietary recalls collected at four time points: before the intervention (month 0), mid-point (3 months), immediately after the intervention (6 months), and six months after the intervention ends (12 months). Dissemination and evaluation: The study will provide evidence on the determinants of dietary behavior change, contributing to the dissemination of the Guidelines. The digital program developed could be made available to the Ministry of Health for incorporation into the Unified Health System (SUS).