From a public health perspective, determinants of diets are crucial to identify, but they remain unclear in Switzerland. Hence, we sought to define current dietary patterns and their sociodemographic and lifestyle determinants using the national nutrition survey menuCH (2014–2015, n = 2057). First, we applied multiple factorial analysis and hierarchical clustering on the energy-standardised daily consumption of 17 food categories. Four dietary patterns were identified (“Swiss traditional”: high intakes of dairy products and chocolate, n = 744; “Western 1”: soft drinks and meat, n = 383; “Western 2”: alcohol, meat and starchy, n = 444; and “Prudent”: n = 486). Second, we used multinomial logistic regression to examine the determinants of the four dietary patterns: ten sociodemographic or lifestyle factors (sex, age, body mass index, language region, nationality, marital status, income, physical activity, smoking status, and being on a weight-loss diet) were significantly associated with the dietary patterns. Notably, belonging to the French- and Italian-speaking regions of Switzerland increased the odds of following a “Prudent” diet (Odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.92 [1.45–2.53] and 1.68 [0.98–2.90], respectively) compared to the German-speaking regions. Our findings highlight the influence of sociodemographic and lifestyle parameters on diet and the particularities of the language regions of Switzerland. These results provide the basis for public health interventions targeted for population subgroups.

Background: Due to the widespread use of mobile phones, dietary mobile apps are promising tools for preventing diet-related noncommunicable diseases early in life. However, most of the currently available nutrition apps lack scientific evaluation and user acceptance. Objective: The objective of this study was the systematic design of a theory-driven and target group–adapted dietary mobile app concept to promote healthy eating habits with a focus on drinking habits as well as consumption of fruits and vegetables in adolescents and young adults, especially from disadvantaged backgrounds. Methods: The design process was guided by the behavior change wheel (BCW). The development process comprised 3 stages. In stage 1, the target behavior was specified, and facilitators and barriers were identified. Furthermore, important insights into target group interests, needs, and values in the field of nutrition and apps were revealed. To this end, 2 empirical studies were conducted with the target group. In stage 2, results of stage 1 were translated into behavior change techniques (BCTs) and, finally, into app functionalities and features. Consequently, in stage 3, the concept was evaluated and optimized through expert interviews. Results: Facilitators and barriers for achieving the target behavior were psychological capabilities (eg, self-efficacy), reflective motivation (eg, fitness), automatic motivation, social support, and physical opportunity (eg, time). Target group interests, needs, and values in the field of nutrition were translated into target group preferences for app usage, for example, low usage effort, visual feedback, or recipes. Education, training, incentives, persuasion, and enablement were identified as relevant intervention functions. Together with the target group preferences, these were translated via 14 BCTs, such as rewards, graded tasks, or self-monitoring into the app concept Challenge to go (C2go). The expert evaluation suggested changes of some app features for improving adherence, positive health effects, and technical feasibility. The C2go concept comprises 3 worlds: the (1) drinking, (2) vegetable, and (3) fruit worlds. In each world, the users are faced with challenges including feedback and a quiz. Tips were developed based on the health action process approach and to help users gain challenges and, thereby, achieve the target behavior. Challenges can be played alone or against someone in the community. Due to different activities, points can be collected, and levels can be achieved. Collected points open access to an Infothek (information section), where users can choose content that interests them. An avatar guides user through the app. Conclusions: C2go is aimed at adolescents and young adults and aims to improve their fruit and vegetable consumption as well as drinking habits. It is a theory-driven and target group–adapted dietary mobile intervention concept that uses gamification and was systematically developed using the BCW.

In light of the globally increasing prevalence of diet-related chronic diseases, new scalable and non-invasive dietary monitoring techniques are urgently needed. Automatically collected digital receipts from loyalty cards hereby promise to serve as an objective and automatically traceable digital marker for individual food choice behavior and do not require users to manually log individual meal items. With the introduction of the General Data Privacy Regulation in the European Union, millions of consumers gained the right to access their shopping data in a machine-readable form, representing a historic chance to leverage shopping data for scalable monitoring of food choices. Multiple quantitative indicators for evaluating the nutritional quality of food shopping have been suggested, but so far, no comparison has validated the potential of these alternative indicators within a comparative setting. This manuscript thus represents the first study to compare the calibration capacity and to validate the discrimination potential of previously suggested food shopping quality indicators for the nutritional quality of shopped groceries, including the Food Standards Agency Nutrient Profiling System Dietary Index (FSA-NPS DI), Grocery Purchase Quality Index-2016 (GPQI), Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015), Healthy Trolley Index (HETI) and Healthy Purchase Index (HPI), checking if any of them performs differently from the others. The hypothesis is that some food shopping quality indicators outperform the others in calibrating and discriminating individual actual dietary intake. To assess the indicators’ potentials, 89 eligible participants completed a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and donated their digital receipts from the loyalty card programs of the two leading Swiss grocery retailers, which represent 70% of the national grocery market. Compared to absolute food and nutrient intake, correlations between density-based relative food and nutrient intake and food shopping data are stronger. The FSA-NPS DI has the best calibration and discrimination performance in classifying participants’ consumption of nutrients and food groups, and seems to be a superior indicator to estimate nutritional quality of a user’s diet based on digital receipts from grocery shopping in Switzerland.

In light of the globally increasing prevalence of diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs), new scalable and non-invasive dietary monitoring techniques are urgently needed. Automatically collected digital receipts from loyalty cards have the potential to serve as an objective and automatically traceable digital biomarker for individual food choice behavior and do not require patients to manually log each individual meal item. Until recently, such electronic purchase records were hard to collect for researchers and were only validated in national empirical studies. Multiple quantitative indicators for purchase quality have been suggested, but so far no comparison has validated the potential of these alternative indicators to discriminate between health-beneficial and -detrimental food choices. With the introduction of the General Data Privacy Regulation in the European Union, millions of consumers gained the right to access their purchase data in a machine-readable form, representing a historic chance to leverage purchase data for scalable monitoring of food choices. This study hence is the first study comparing the calibration capacity and validating the discrimination potential of previously suggested purchase indicators for the nutritional quality of purchased groceries, incl. HEI-2015, HETI, GPQI, and FSA-NPS DI. To assess the indicators' potential, 464 study participants were asked to complete a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and to donate their digital receipts from the loyalty card programs of the two leading Swiss grocery retailers, representing 69\% of the national grocery market. 89 participants fulfilled the eligibility criteria, i.e. completed the FFQ and were frequent users of the loyalty card systems. Compared to absolute food and nutrient intake, correlations between density-based relative food and nutrient intake and food purchase data are stronger. Counterintuitively, although the frameworks of the HETI and the GPQI are centered around food groups, both indicators do not capture food group intake such as vegetables or sweets very well. The FSA-NPS DI has the best calibration and discrimination performance in classifying participants' consumption of nutrients and food groups, and seems to be a superior indicator to estimate nutritional quality of a user's diet based on digital receipts from grocery purchases in Switzerland.

Background/Objectives: The global population is undergoing a significant demographic shift characterised by an increasing proportion of older individuals. Healthy aging has become a priority for personal well-being and sustainable healthcare systems, with nutrition playing a pivotal role. However, the rise in non-communicable diseases (NCDs), malnutrition, and a shift in eating behaviour underscore the need for tailored, effective nutrition communication strategies. This research is intended to provide the basic data needed to support the development of tailored nutritional communication strategies and practices. Methods: To investigate these aspects, a cross-national survey about nutrition and nutrition communication was conducted within the framework of the Innovative Training Network SmartAge, focusing on older adults aged 60 years and above in Germany, Switzerland, Spain, and France (each 25%; N = 1000 persons). This paper specifically focuses on the development, methodology, and discussion of the survey and aims to investigate the characteristics of the sample in relation to their dietary patterns and food choices within the European context. Results: The analysis identified significant associations between various plant- and animal-based food items and the variables gender, age group, and country. Spanish participants showed a dietary pattern towards the Mediterranean Diet, while German participants showed tendencies towards the Western Diet. Furthermore, the findings revealed that protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, nuts and seeds, legumes, and (whole) grains were infrequently consumed, particularly among German and Swiss participants. Conclusions: This study highlights the need to promote adequate protein intake among older adults, emphasising diverse sources like legumes, nuts and seeds, (whole) grains, and lean meats to support healthy aging. For the development of future nutrition communication strategies, the influence of the specific social, cultural, and traditional factors needs to be considered.

BACKGROUND Due to the widespread use of mobile phones, dietary mobile apps are promising tools for preventing diet-related noncommunicable diseases early in life. However, most of the currently available nutrition apps lack scientific evaluation and user acceptance. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was the systematic design of a theory-driven and target group–adapted dietary mobile app concept to promote healthy eating habits with a focus on drinking habits as well as consumption of fruits and vegetables in adolescents and young adults, especially from disadvantaged backgrounds. METHODS The design process was guided by the behavior change wheel (BCW). The development process comprised 3 stages. In stage 1, the target behavior was specified, and facilitators and barriers were identified. Furthermore, important insights into target group interests, needs, and values in the field of nutrition and apps were revealed. To this end, 2 empirical studies were conducted with the target group. In stage 2, results of stage 1 were translated into behavior change techniques (BCTs) and, finally, into app functionalities and features. Consequently, in stage 3, the concept was evaluated and optimized through expert interviews. RESULTS Facilitators and barriers for achieving the target behavior were psychological capabilities (eg, self-efficacy), reflective motivation (eg, fitness), automatic motivation, social support, and physical opportunity (eg, time). Target group interests, needs, and values in the field of nutrition were translated into target group preferences for app usage, for example, low usage effort, visual feedback, or recipes. Education, training, incentives, persuasion, and enablement were identified as relevant intervention functions. Together with the target group preferences, these were translated via 14 BCTs, such as rewards, graded tasks, or self-monitoring into the app concept Challenge to go (C2go). The expert evaluation suggested changes of some app features for improving adherence, positive health effects, and technical feasibility. The C2go concept comprises 3 worlds: the (1) drinking, (2) vegetable, and (3) fruit worlds. In each world, the users are faced with challenges including feedback and a quiz. Tips were developed based on the health action process approach and to help users gain challenges and, thereby, achieve the target behavior. Challenges can be played alone or against someone in the community. Due to different activities, points can be collected, and levels can be achieved. Collected points open access to an Infothek (information section), where users can choose content that interests them. An avatar guides user through the app. CONCLUSIONS C2go is aimed at adolescents and young adults and aims to improve their fruit and vegetable consumption as well as drinking habits. It is a theory-driven and target group–adapted dietary mobile intervention concept that uses gamification and was systematically developed using the BCW.