THE UTILIZATION OF TECHNOLOGY AS AN APPROACH TO IMPROVE MEAL PLANNING AND DIETARY INTAKE

Abstract

OF THESIS THE UTILIZATION OF TECHNOLOGY AS AN APPROACH TO IMPROVE MEAL PLANNING AND DIETARY INTAKE The prevalence of obesity is rising in the United States and one factor that contributes to it is the lack of cooking at home and planning out meals. Since text messaging is now a main avenue of communication, it could be used to motivate people to plan out their meals and cook at home instead of consuming fast food. Current research on how weekly nudges might relate to peoples’ goals about meal preparation and dietary intake is very limited. The purpose of this study was to examine if sending weekly nudges, focusing on specific dietary goals, improves meal planning and dietary intake in an online meal planning group. A Facebook group was used to send weekly nudges to the participants throughout six weeks. It was found that meal planning appears to have a significant effect on meal preparation at home and thus may help improve dietary intake. The results found can also be utilized in other aspects of leading to healthier lifestyles and motivation-need situations such as weight loss.