Are dietary interventions with a behaviour change theoretical framework effective in changing dietary patterns? A systematic review

Timlin et al. (2020) conducted a systematic review to find and qualitatively evaluate trials that implement whole dietary patterns using a Social Cognition Model. The purpose was to thoroughly assess the effectiveness and psychological theory of dietary interventions that encouraged a whole eating pattern. The 9 studies that met the inclusion criteria were then analyzed to find that interventions improved at least one food group in studies reporting on individual food group scores. Overall, based on the Theory Coding Scheme (research tool that determines the extent to which theory was applied to design interventions), it was suggested that studies were not vigorously applying theory to intervention design. We should investigate further to determine the most important behaviour change theory and techniques in dietary interventions. [NPID: behavior, dietary patterns, social cognitive, whole eating pattern, whole foods, dietary intervention]

Year: 2020

Reference: Timlin, D., McCormack, J. M., Kerr, M., Keaver, L., & Simpson, E. (2020). Are dietary interventions with a behaviour change theoretical framework effective in changing dietary patterns? A systematic review. BMC public health, 20(1), 1857. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09985-8