The DietCoach Project is a new joint research project that we are conducting together with the Department of Cardiology, the Institute of Computer Science HSG, the ETH/HSG Auto-ID Labs and the ETH AI Center, with support of the Swiss Heart Foundation.

Project Goal: The aim of this research project is to change food purchase behavior by using a novel personalized e-coaching system that we call "DietCoach". DietCoach is based on the analysis of digital food shopping data. In a clinical study, we will assess the efficacy and usability of this e-health application during nutritional counselling of the cardiac rehabilitation programme at the University Hospital Bern (Department of Diabetes, Endocrinology, Nutritional Medicine and Department of Cardiology UDEM). Participants provide their shopping data collected via loyality cards. Personalized goals will be set during the nutritional counselling session via the DietCoach platform, which triggers tailored product recommendations and feedback on shopping behavior. After the 12-week intervention, changes in shopping behavior compared to the beginning will be examined. 

Context: Unhealthy dietary habits are a major risk factor for the development of cardiometabolic diseases. Modifying dietary patterns can have a significant impact on this risk. Providing nudges towards individual food purchase behavior offers tremendous potential to reduce cardiometabolic morbidity and mortality by the promotion of a healthier diet. By using digital receipts, data on purchased food can be collected automatically. This provides the opportunity to analyze food choices according to different criteria. The data can be used for an individualized and tailored nutrition counselling and might contribute to improving food literacy.