Promoting healthier habits in children and their families: the nubi app intervention study (nubi)

Adopting a healthy, balanced diet throughout life is essential to prevent malnutrition in all its forms and reduce the incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Nevertheless, in recent times, there has been a westernisation of eating habits, in favour of junk food. This is particularly true among the younger generations. Following a healthy diet every day is often challenging, especially when it is necessary to prepare meals that meet children's nutritional needs and food preferences.

The use of web applications or smartphone apps specifically designed for parents could be an effective strategy to assist families in organizing and preparing healthy, balanced meals for their children. The project therefore aims to support parents in managing their children's daily diet by using the NUBI app. The tool complements the school catering service by proposing healthy and balanced weekly menus with the purpose of promoting proper nutrition. To facilitate the family meal preparation, the proposed dishes present the corresponding recipe accompanied by a list of ingredients with appropriate quantities for children and adults. In addition, the application offers daily educational contents on the topic of a healthy and sustainable diet through user-friendly tips.

The research will involve different activities as reported below.

• Tool development and implementation (Jan24-Jan25). The web application is developed and implemented with different types of content. Different questionnaires are selected and included in the app to investigate the subjects' socio-demographic characteristics and knowledge, habits and attitudes related to foods and diet. Educational contents are developed to address topics such as the healthy plate, the food pyramid and food consumption frequencies. Healthy weekly menus suggestions are also provided via the app. School menus are collected and considered to generate these weekly proposals, balanced with the school catering service.
   
• Volunteer recruitment and randomization (Nov24-Feb25). After recruitment, parents adhering to the project are randomised into two groups. The control group has access to the app for filling in the questionnaires only. The intervention group has access to the app for both filling in the questionnaires and for viewing the educational content and the proposed weekly menus.
   
• Baseline phase (Jan25-Feb25). Data such as socio-demographic information, nutritional knowledge, food consumption frequencies and food parenting practices are investigated through specific questionnaires to be filled in by parents. Data collection is done at the beginning of the study (1 week to fill in the questionnaires). Intervention and follow-up (Jan25-May25). Parents in the intervention group can access the weekly menu and educational content in the app during the intervention (4 weeks) and the follow-up (8 weeks) phases. Data collection is carried out similarly to the baseline phase after the intervention phase (4 weeks from the beginning) and after the follow-up (after 12 weeks from the beginning). Changes in this data will be monitored to assess the efficacy of the intervention itself and compare intervention and control groups.
   
• Communication activities (Jan24-Dec25). During the project different communication activities are carried out, such as information events involving teachers and families and flyer distribution.

• Improving and consolidating eating habits of children and families, fostering a greater adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and to the Italian food-based dietary guidelines.
   
• Increasing parents’ nutritional knowledge and culinary skills, enhancing awareness about a healthy and balanced diet, providing an effective and practical help in family’s diet organization and management