The Effect of a Customized Nutrient-Profiling Approach on the Glycated Hemoglobin Levels of Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: Quasi-Experimental Study

BACKGROUND: Presently, dietary management approaches are mostly oriented toward using calorie-counting and diet-tracking tools that draw our attention away from the nutritional value of our food. To improve individuals’ dietary behavior, primarily that of people with type 2 diabetes, a simple technique is needed to increase their understanding of the nutritional content of their food. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to design, develop, and evaluate a customized nutrient-profiling tool called EasyNutrition. EasyNutrition was built to introduce the new concept of nutrient profiling by applying the Intelligent Nutrition Engine, an algorithm that we developed for ranking different food recipes based on their nutritional value. This study also aimed to investigate the efficacy of EasyNutrition in lowering glycated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)) levels and improving dietary habits among people with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: We evaluated the utility of EasyNutrition using design science research in three sequential stages. This paper has elaborated on the third stage to investigate the efficacy of EasyNutrition in managing type 2 diabetes. A quasi-experimental study was conducted in a diabetes treatment center (n=28). The intervention group utilized EasyNutrition over 3 months, whereas participants in the control group utilized the standard of care provided by the center. Dietary habits and HbA(1c) levels were measured to capture any change before and after experimenting with EasyNutrition. RESULTS: The intervention group (n=9) exhibited a statistically significant change between the pre- and postexposure results of their HbA(1c) (t(9)=2.427; P=.04). Their HbA(1c) dropped from 8.13 to 6.72. This provided preliminary evidence of the efficacy of using a customized nutrient-profiling app in reducing HbA(1c) for people with type 2 diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: This study adds to the evidence base that a nutrient-profiling strategy may be a modern adjunct to diabetes dietary management. In conjunction with reliable dietary education provided by a registered dietician, EasyNutrition may have some beneficial effects to improve the dietary habits of people with type 2 diabetes.