From eco-score apps to immersive virtual supermarkets, researchers are delving into whether technology can effectively nudge people toward healthier and more sustainable eating habits. A recent systematic review published in Nutrients scrutinizes the effectiveness of digital technologies in promoting these habits among the general population. Despite promising findings, the study underscores the urgent need for stronger, long-term evidence.
The review titled “Digital Tools for the Promotion of Healthy and Sustainable Eating Behaviors in the General Population: A Systematic Review of the Literature” synthesizes evidence from 16 empirical studies, adhering to PRISMA guidelines. The findings raise critical questions about the potential of digital interventions to instigate lasting dietary changes.
Importance of Sustainable Diets
A robust food system is pivotal not only for public health but also for environmental sustainability. Diets high in animal-based and ultra-processed foods exacerbate chronic illnesses and contribute significantly to environmental issues, including increased greenhouse gas emissions and resource depletion.
The One Health approach, which emphasizes the interconnectedness of human, animal, and ecosystem health, advocates for sustainable food systems. This framework highlights the impact of dietary choices on public health, the environment, and animal welfare. Transitioning to plant-based and flexitarian diets can significantly improve health outcomes, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and minimize harm to animals.
While promoting sustainable eating habits can enhance both environmental outcomes and personal health, it requires a holistic perspective. Not all sustainability-focused diets are inherently healthy, particularly if they are overly restrictive or unbalanced. Guidelines stress that healthy, sustainable diets should provide adequate nutrition, minimize environmental impact, and support overall well-being. The authors of the review also note a bidirectional relationship between diet and mental health, where poor diet quality can worsen psychological outcomes, and certain mental health conditions may lead to dysfunctional and environmentally harmful eating behaviors.
Review Characteristics and Findings
To date, the impact of digital technologies on sustainable and healthy eating habits has not been thoroughly studied. This systematic narrative review evaluates digital technologies for promoting healthy and sustainable dietary behaviors, focusing on categorizing psychological factors and behavioral strategies within digital interventions. Researchers sourced relevant literature from PsycInfo, PsycArticles, PubMed, and ProQuest.
The review included 16 studies, 56% of which were randomized controlled trials, while 50% were non-controlled designs. Only 31% included follow-up assessments lasting 1–4 weeks, with no study conducting long-term follow-up beyond three months. Sample sizes varied significantly, with mobile app-based studies often including larger samples and follow-up assessments compared to many virtual reality studies. Notably, most participants were healthy, non-vegetarian adults, with 31% being university students. Approximately 94% of the studies comprised mixed-gender samples; a few included unspecified genders or focused solely on women.
“Around 69% of studies used ad hoc questionnaires or interviews to assess outcomes, with only one referencing the original Theory of Planned Behavior Questionnaire.”
Research quality varied, with 44% of studies rated strong, 25% moderate, and 31% weak. Weaknesses mainly stemmed from short or absent follow-up, small sample sizes, and risk of bias. Over 50% of the research failed to control for confounding variables. The authors also noted that psychological and behavioral strategies often had to be inferred by reviewers rather than explicitly stated by study authors, introducing potential subjectivity into the categorization process.
Impact of Digital Interventions
The studies targeted interventions supporting both individual health and environmental sustainability. Broad inclusion criteria reflected the field’s novelty, leading to heterogeneity in study designs, sample sizes, and settings, precluding meta-analysis. Despite this, evidence indicates that digital tools employing diverse psychological and behavioral strategies can produce promising short-term improvements in dietary practices, though effect sizes varied and were inconsistently reported across studies.
Technology offers innovative ways to help people adopt healthier and more sustainable eating habits. Tools such as smartphone apps, web platforms, and VR can encourage positive change by making information more accessible and engaging. Many technologies use psychological techniques like gamification and nudging to support conscious, sustainable choices. Research areas such as Design for Sustainable Behavior and theories like the Theory of Planned Behavior guide the development of effective digital interventions.
Smartphone apps and VR platforms were most frequently employed and were associated with short-term positive effects, particularly in reducing red and processed meat intake, increasing plant-based food choices, and enhancing food-related awareness and decision-making. However, the magnitude and durability of these effects remain uncertain due to short follow-up periods and methodological variability.
Self-monitoring features, primarily in smartphone apps and messaging interventions, enabled tracking dietary behavior and progress toward personal goals, often within systems that provided reminders and feedback. VR and web platforms often targeted self-efficacy and response efficacy, enhancing users’ confidence in making sustainable choices through immersive feedback and real-time visualization of health or environmental impacts.
“Awareness was the most frequently targeted construct, often operationalized through educational content, gamification, or interactive experiences to enhance knowledge of sustainable practices and environmental impact.”
Digital tools facilitated decision-making through features like eco-scores, feedback, and motivational messages. Techniques to influence emotions, such as inducing feelings of pride or regret, were used less often but can also encourage sustainable choices. Digital technologies and interactive platforms are also valuable in clinical psychology, where they support the treatment and prevention of eating disorders and help manage these conditions, although the present review focused specifically on interventions in the general population rather than clinical samples.
Future Directions and Implications
The current review highlighted that digital tools, such as smartphone apps and VR, can help people make more sustainable food choices, especially when they include feedback, engaging content, and step-by-step guidance. However, the authors emphasize that most evidence reflects short-term behavioral shifts rather than sustained change. Adding design elements that encourage sustainable behavior may improve results, but more research is needed to determine whether these changes persist over time.
The authors further note that digital interventions often rely on individual-level prompts and nudges, raising questions about their long-term transformative impact compared to broader systemic or community-based approaches.
Overall, while digital technologies show potential as scalable tools to promote healthier and more sustainable diets, the evidence base remains methodologically heterogeneous and relatively immature. This underscores the need for more rigorous, longitudinal, theory-driven, and better-standardized research to clarify long-term effectiveness and comparative impact across technologies.
