Short-Term Changes in Nutrition Literacy, Dietary Engagement, and Reported Food Habits Among Adolescents After One Session with a Gamified Digital Nutrition-Education Platform: A Single-Arm Pre–Post Study
5 affiliations
- 1Department of Public Health, College of Political, Administrative and Communication Sciences, Babes-Bolyai University, 400376 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- 2Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- 3Discipline of Public Health and Management, Department of Community Medicine, “Iuliu Hațieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- 4Astralis Solutions S.R.L., Strada Colinei 20, 400520 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- 5Asociația Wello, 400686 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Abstract
Background/Objectives: No study has evaluated a gamified nutrition-education platform for adolescents in Eastern Europe. This pilot study described short-term changes in nutrition literacy, dietary engagement and reported food habits after one session with AHOPE, an automated gamified platform, among Romanian adolescents. Methods: In a single-arm pre–post study, 332 adolescents aged 10–19 years began one session and 155 (46.7%) completed it, answering three scales, including an adapted forced-choice Adolescent Food Habits Checklist, immediately before and after. Paired tests used Benjamini–Hochberg correction; moderation and predictor analyses were exploratory. Results: All six outcome scores were higher after the session (all p_BH < 0.001; dz 0.42–0.73, largest for nutrition literacy). Of 23 food-habit items, 17 shifted toward the healthier response, with the largest shifts for the foods taught in the modules. Interaction tests gave no evidence that change differed by sex, age band or family affluence (all p_BH ≥ 0.90), although power was limited (low-affluence group, n = 18). Conclusions: Among completers, who were more affluent than non-completers, self-reported nutrition literacy, dietary engagement and food-habit responses were higher immediately after one session. These changes may reflect short-term intentions; the design cannot establish causation, persistence or behavioural change, which require a controlled trial with delayed follow-up.
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BibTeX
@article{ispas2026shortterm,
title = {{Short-Term Changes in Nutrition Literacy, Dietary Engagement, and Reported Food Habits Among Adolescents After One Session with a Gamified Digital Nutrition-Education Platform: A Single-Arm Pre–Post Study}},
author = {Anca Georgiana Ispas and Alexandra Lacurezeanu and Alina-Ioana Forray and Andreea Rusu and Dumitru Petreuș and Răzvan Mircea Cherecheș},
journal = {Nutrients},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/nu18203447},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/20/3447},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Short-Term Changes in Nutrition Literacy, Dietary Engagement, and Reported Food Habits Among Adolescents After One Session with a Gamified Digital Nutrition-Education Platform: A Single-Arm Pre–Post Study
AU - Anca Georgiana Ispas
AU - Alexandra Lacurezeanu
AU - Alina-Ioana Forray
AU - Andreea Rusu
AU - Dumitru Petreuș
AU - Răzvan Mircea Cherecheș
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Nutrients
DO - 10.3390/nu18203447
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/20/3447
AB - Background/Objectives: No study has evaluated a gamified nutrition-education platform for adolescents in Eastern Europe. This pilot study described short-term changes in nutrition literacy, dietary engagement and reported food habits after one session with AHOPE, an automated gamified platform, among Romanian adolescents. Methods: In a single-arm pre–post study, 332 adolescents aged 10–19 years began one session and 155 (46.7%) completed it, answering three scales, including an adapted forced-choice Adolescent Food Habits Checklist, immediately before and after. Paired tests used Benjamini–Hochberg correction; moderation and predictor analyses were exploratory. Results: All six outcome scores were higher after the session (all p_BH < 0.001; dz 0.42–0.73, largest for nutrition literacy). Of 23 food-habit items, 17 shifted toward the healthier response, with the largest shifts for the foods taught in the modules. Interaction tests gave no evidence that change differed by sex, age band or family affluence (all p_BH ≥ 0.90), although power was limited (low-affluence group, n = 18). Conclusions: Among completers, who were more affluent than non-completers, self-reported nutrition literacy, dietary engagement and food-habit responses were higher immediately after one session. These changes may reflect short-term intentions; the design cannot establish causation, persistence or behavioural change, which require a controlled trial with delayed follow-up.
SN - 2072-6643
ER -