The Impact of Online Dietary Assessment to Efficiency of Nutrition Counseling: A Pilot

IntroductionNutrition counseling is an important intervention for many chronic diseases and dietary assessment is a crucial component of any initial nutrition counseling visit. Although necessary, the process of collecting a detailed dietary assessment is time consuming and, in turn, decreases the amount of time available for nutrition education and goal setting. The objective of this study was to examine whether an online dietary assessment completed prior to a nutrition counseling visit was related to more efficient nutrition counseling visits. MethodsTwenty-six adults were recruited out of primary care centers and were randomized to either the pre-assessment group (n=13) or the control group (n=13). Participants in both groups then attended 2 nutrition counseling visits with registered dietitians in a local grocery store. The pre-assessment group completed an online food frequency questionnaire prior to their first visit with the dietitian, to which the dietitian had access prior to the initial visit. ...