Development of a Web-App for the Ecological Momentary Assessment of Dietary Habits among College Students: The HEALTHY-UNICT Project

Abstract

The transition from adolescence to adulthood is a critical period for the development of healthy behaviors. Yet, it is often characterized by unhealthy food choices. Considering the current pandemic scenario, it is also essential to assess the effects of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) on lifestyles and diet, especially among young people. However, the assessment of dietary habits and their determinants is a complex issue that requires innovative approaches and tools, such as those based on the ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Here, we describe the first phases of the “HEALTHY-UNICT” project, which aimed to develop and validate a web-app for the EMA of dietary data among students from the University of Catania, Italy. The pilot study included 138 students (mean age 24 years, SD = 4.2; 75.4% women), who used the web-app for a week before filling out a food frequency questionnaire with validation purposes. Dietary data obtained through the two tools showed moderate correlations, with the lowest value for butter and margarine and the highest for pizza (Spearman’s correlation coefficients of 0.202 and 0.699, respectively). According to the cross-classification analysis, the percentage of students classified into the same quartile ranged from 36.9% for vegetable oil to 58.1% for pizza. In line with these findings, the weighted-kappa values ranged from 0.15 for vegetable oil to 0.67 for pizza, and most food categories showed values above 0.4. This web-app showed good usability among students, assessed through a 19-item usability scale. Moreover, the web-app also had the potential to evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on students’ behaviors and emotions, showing a moderate impact on sedentary activities, level of stress, and depression. These findings, although interesting, might be confirmed by the next phases of the HEALTHY-UNICT project, which aims to characterize lifestyles, dietary habits, and their relationship with anthropometric measures and emotions in a larger sample of students.

Changes in Physical Activity, Healthy Diet, and Sleeping Time during the COVID-19 Pandemic in South Korea

“…Not all these studies used nationally representative materials, and no previous studies included variables related to COVID-19, such as suspected COVID-19 symptoms, compliance with COVID-19 prevention guidelines, and concerns about COVID-19 infection. In the current situation, there is a need for studies about generalizable health behaviors that reflect the characteristics of COVID-19 and current political circumstances [ 17 ]. Understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affects health behaviors will help public health professionals better cope with the negative health effects of COVID-19.…”

Impact of Eating Context on Dietary Choices of College Students: Evidence from the HEALTHY-UNICT Project

“…This tool was represented by a web-app for the EMA of information related to dietary habits and contextual factors that might influence dietary choices. In fact, the web-app we used—which has been previously validated against a traditional food frequency questionnaire [ 26 ]—could be useful for dietary data collection, especially among young adults who use cell phones in most aspects of daily life. Although the application of the web-app for data collection is probably the main strength of our work, some weaknesses should be discussed.…”

“…The study was conducted as part of the HEALTHY-UNICT (Healthy diet and lifestyles among University of Catania Students: a mobile Ecological Momentary Assessment approach for health promotion) project, which recruited students from the University of Catania (Catania, Italy) to characterize their behaviors, anthropometric measures, and emotions. In this framework, as described elsewhere [ 26 ], we developed a web-app for the EMA of dietary consumption, physical activity, smoking habits, sleep duration and quality, and other daily activities. The web-app was designed and validated to collect dietary data in real time and in the real world [ 26 ].…”

“…In this framework, as described elsewhere [ 26 ], we developed a web-app for the EMA of dietary consumption, physical activity, smoking habits, sleep duration and quality, and other daily activities. The web-app was designed and validated to collect dietary data in real time and in the real world [ 26 ]. The EMA employed in the HEALTHY-UNICT project was based on a previous systematic review [ 25 ] and consisted of a 7-day assessment with a signal-contingent approach [ 26 ].…”

“…The web-app was designed and validated to collect dietary data in real time and in the real world [ 26 ]. The EMA employed in the HEALTHY-UNICT project was based on a previous systematic review [ 25 ] and consisted of a 7-day assessment with a signal-contingent approach [ 26 ]. The study population included a convenience sample of students from the hygiene and public health courses of the bachelor’s or master’s degree programs in the biological sciences, medicine, and the health professions at the University of Catania.…”