Diet and physical activity risk patterns in urban adults: HORUS Rijeka pilot
Abstract
Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are driven by clusters of modifiable lifestyle behaviours that rarely occur in isolation. The Rijeka pilot of HORUS (GA No. 101136516) delivers a personalised behaviour change programme to urban adults at risk of NCDs; we profiled diet and physical activity at baseline to identify intervention targets.
Methods: Cross-sectional baseline analysis within a 9-month pre–post-controlled study (n = 156 intervention; n = 160 control). Diet quality was assessed using the rapid Prime Diet Quality Score Screener (rPDQS, 13 items), and physical activity was measured with the IPAQ short form. Group differences were assessed using Welch’s t-test, Mann–Whitney test, and χ² test.
Results: The groups differed at baseline in age (71.8±8.1 vs 65.8±16.5 years, p < 0.001) and proportion of females (87.5% vs 45.3%, p < 0.001). Intervention participants reported higher diet quality (rPDQS 30.3±4.8 vs 27.5±5.0, p < 0.001), lower fast-food intake (5.1% vs 13.1%, p = 0.02), lower processed meat intake (49.4% vs 63.1%, p = 0.005), and higher whole-grain intake (64.7% vs 41.9%, p < 0.001). Physical activity patterns also differed: more were IPAQ Moderate (60.3% vs 38.8%, p < 0.001), with more walking days (5.4±2.2 vs 4.2±2.9, p < 0.001) and fewer sitting hours (4.2±1.9 vs 5.2±2.3, p < 0.001).
Conclusions: Intervention participants — mostly older women — show clear behavioural risk: half of intervention participants consume processed meat weekly; a quarter are sedentary. These findings identify personalisation targets for HORUS-Rijeka, particularly dietary modification and reducing sedentary behaviour. Baseline imbalance will be addressed at T1 by ANCOVA adjusted for baseline, age, and sex.
Key messages: • HORUS-Rijeka intervention participants exhibit multi-domain risk, primarily related to diet quality and sedentary behaviour, which maps directly to personalisation targets.
• Baseline profiling of diet and physical activity supports targeted intervention design and personalisation for addressing specific behaviour change stages.
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BibTeX
@article{sadiku2026diet,
title = {{Diet and physical activity risk patterns in urban adults: HORUS Rijeka pilot}},
author = {D Sadiku and D Juraga and T Rukavina and M Marinović Glavić and D Roviš and Z Trobonjača and L Bilajac and S Maričić and T Alhambra-Borrás and V Vasiljev},
journal = {The European Journal of Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1121},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1121},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Diet and physical activity risk patterns in urban adults: HORUS Rijeka pilot
AU - D Sadiku
AU - D Juraga
AU - T Rukavina
AU - M Marinović Glavić
AU - D Roviš
AU - Z Trobonjača
AU - L Bilajac
AU - S Maričić
AU - T Alhambra-Borrás
AU - V Vasiljev
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - The European Journal of Public Health
DO - 10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1121
UR - https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1121
AB - Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are driven by clusters of modifiable lifestyle behaviours that rarely occur in isolation. The Rijeka pilot of HORUS (GA No. 101136516) delivers a personalised behaviour change programme to urban adults at risk of NCDs; we profiled diet and physical activity at baseline to identify intervention targets. Methods: Cross-sectional baseline analysis within a 9-month pre–post-controlled study (n = 156 intervention; n = 160 control). Diet quality was assessed using the rapid Prime Diet Quality Score Screener (rPDQS, 13 items), and physical activity was measured with the IPAQ short form. Group differences were assessed using Welch’s t-test, Mann–Whitney test, and χ² test. Results: The groups differed at baseline in age (71.8±8.1 vs 65.8±16.5 years, p < 0.001) and proportion of females (87.5% vs 45.3%, p < 0.001). Intervention participants reported higher diet quality (rPDQS 30.3±4.8 vs 27.5±5.0, p < 0.001), lower fast-food intake (5.1% vs 13.1%, p = 0.02), lower processed meat intake (49.4% vs 63.1%, p = 0.005), and higher whole-grain intake (64.7% vs 41.9%, p < 0.001). Physical activity patterns also differed: more were IPAQ Moderate (60.3% vs 38.8%, p < 0.001), with more walking days (5.4±2.2 vs 4.2±2.9, p < 0.001) and fewer sitting hours (4.2±1.9 vs 5.2±2.3, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Intervention participants — mostly older women — show clear behavioural risk: half of intervention participants consume processed meat weekly; a quarter are sedentary. These findings identify personalisation targets for HORUS-Rijeka, particularly dietary modification and reducing sedentary behaviour. Baseline imbalance will be addressed at T1 by ANCOVA adjusted for baseline, age, and sex. Key messages: • HORUS-Rijeka intervention participants exhibit multi-domain risk, primarily related to diet quality and sedentary behaviour, which maps directly to personalisation targets. • Baseline profiling of diet and physical activity supports targeted intervention design and personalisation for addressing specific behaviour change stages.
SN - 1101-1262
SN - 1464-360X
ER -