Increasing dietary fibre intake in healthy adults using personalised dietary advice compared with general advice: a single-blind randomised controlled trial

Abstract

Objective: A high-fibre diet is associated with a lower risk for diseases. However, few adults meet the dietary fibre recommendation. Therefore, the effects and acceptance of an algorithm-generated personalised dietary advice (PDA) compared with general advice (GA) on fibre intake were investigated. Design: A 6-week, single-blind randomised controlled trial with a 3-month follow-up. Setting: PDA was based on habitual intake and provided fibre-rich alternatives using a website; GA contained brochures. Dietary intake was assessed at baseline, week 1, week 6 and 3-month follow-up. Both groups evaluated their advice at week 6. All participants had access to PDA from week 7 until 3-month follow-up. Participants: Two groups of healthy adults: PDA (n 34) and GA (n 47). For 3-month follow-up analysis, participants were re-divided into visitors (n 52) and non-visitors (n 26) of the PDA. Results: At week 6, energy intake remained stable in both groups, but fibre intake per 1000 kcal increased non-significantly in both groups (PDA = Δ0·5 ± 2·8; GA = Δ0·8 ± 3·1, P = 0·128). Importantly, a significantly higher percentage of PDA participants adhered to the recommendation compared with week 1 (PDA = 21 % increase; GA = 4 % increase, P ≤ 0·001). PDA participants evaluated the advice significantly better compared with GA participants. At 3-month follow-up, fibre intake increased compared with baseline (visitors = Δ2·2 ± 2·6, P < 0·001; non-visitors = Δ1·5 ± 1·9, P = 0·001), but was insignificantly different between groups. Visitors had a decrease and non-visitors had an increase in energy intake (visitors =Δ − 132 ± 525; non-visitors = Δ109 ± 507, P = 0·055). Conclusions: The algorithm-generated PDA was well accepted and stimulated adherence to the recommendations more than GA, indicating to be a suitable and cost-efficient method for improving dietary fibre intake in healthy adults.

A high-fibre personalised dietary advice given via a web tool reduces constipation complaints in adults

“…We also saw a bigger change in fibre intake in responders. As compared to our previous high-fibre PDA intervention in healthy adults (35) , a bigger change in fibre intake was achieved in this study. Possibly, Table 3.…”

“…However, the study population had high baseline fibre intakes, and an increase in fibre was not the sole aim of the intervention. Recently, we have shown that a digital high-fibre PDA was effective in improving fibre intake up to 3 months after the intervention in adults without gastrointestinal complaints, and this PDA was positively evaluated ( 35 ) . Therefore, we now aimed to investigate the effect of a high-fibre PDA on constipation severity, QoL, stool pattern and fibre intake in adults with mild constipation complaints.…”

Exploring the Potential of Personalized Dietary Advice for Health Improvement in Motivated Individuals With Premetabolic Syndrome: Pretest-Posttest Study

“…However, most of these reviewed studies focused on changing a single dietary behavior aspect in line with general recommendations rather than optimizing dietary intake in view of improved individual health. A recent study by Rijnaarts et al [ 54 ] showed that providing fiber-rich alternatives via an automated, personalized advice system increased adherence to recommendations as compared with generic advice, confirming the effectiveness of a personalized advice system and replacing refined products with wholegrain products.…”

“…Therefore, it is not possible to separate the effect of diet from the potential effect of general health improvement as a behavioral consequence of taking part in the study. A semiplacebo control may be reached by comparing personalized advice with generic advice [ 54 , 69 ] or by allowing participants to be their own control by starting with a free-living run-in period without intervention. Furthermore, N-of-1 (or single-subject) study designs focusing on one individual could be a good fit to study research questions related to personalized dietary advice in the future.…”

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Impact of Different Intensity of Dietary Counselling on Cardiometabolic Health in Middle-Aged and Older Adults

“…Meta-analysis results revealed that when middle-aged or older adults participated in dietary counselling, they showed lowered TC and FBG concentration. A study conducted by Rijnaarts et al showed an increase in fibre consumption after the provision of tailored dietary counselling [ 63 ]. Dietary fibre plays a pivotal role in the management of lipid metabolism and glycaemic control [ 64 , 65 ].…”