The development of public online services for assessing diet quality, having automated feedback, and getting support for dietary changes: the Finnish Nutrition Navigator and the Finnish Nutrition Path (Ravitsemusnavigaattori and Ravitsemuspolku)

Authors

• Elina Järvelä-Reijonen Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio
• Kirsikka Aittola Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio; Unit of Public Health, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki
• Jesse Honkanen Savonia University of Applied Sciences, Kuopio
• Iiro Välimaa Savonia University of Applied Sciences, Kuopio
• Maria Lankinen Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio
• Henna Lehikoinen Savonia University of Applied Sciences, Kuopio
• Marjukka Kolehmainen Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23996/fjhw.153303

Keywords:

diet, dietary intake, dietary habits, diet surveys, food intake, health care

Abstract

Nutrition is one of the most important factors in the prevention of noncommunicable diseases. However, most Finns do not adhere to the nutrition recommendations. Furthermore, there are no commonly used digital dietary screener tools to measure and report diet quality. No such open tools or reliable consumer-oriented nutrition websites exist either for consumers interested in their quality of diet.
Two public online services were created including (1) a web app to measure diet quality with automated personalized feedback system based on the scientifically validated Healthy Diet Index (HDI) and nutrition recommendations, and (2) a website for a self-care path to support the individual in making dietary changes. We utilized service design, several user and expert interviews and feedback questionnaires in the development. The work is part of the National and North Savo regional FOODNUTRI projects funded by Research Council of Finland and North Savo Regional Council, co-funded by the European Union.
The Finnish Nutrition Navigator and the Finnish Nutrition Path were launched in November 2024 (in Finnish). The services are publicly available at no cost, targeted at adults aged 18–75 years. Services can be used independently or with a professional. The professional can guide the patient/citizen to fill in the dietary questionnaire in the Finnish Nutrition Navigator from which the user will get the automated feedback and a code. The user can give the code to the professional so that the information about the diet quality can be utilized and marked in a standard form. The Finnish Nutrition Path gives information and support for dietary changes.
The online services support (1) consumers seeking help with their diet, (2) health care and wellbeing professionals in dietary screening and nutrition counseling, (3) researchers to collect data on diet quality, and (4) health promoting sector to utilize data on population diet quality for reporting and planning and measuring effectiveness of health promotion actions. Using the services would standardize dietary assessment and documentation and provide evidence-based information of diet quality for consumers. The data collected can be used to study diet quality of the Finnish adults and the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of nutrition and lifestyle counseling, allocate resources in health care, and support work to promote health and wellbeing.