The DMD project intends to promote the Mediterranean dietary model, which is characterized by being a healthy and sustainable pattern. In fact, the Mediterranean Diet is often cited as a useful model for reducing the impact of the food system not only by acting on greenhouse gas emissions, but also with respect to the water and ecological footprint.
Preliminary information
SCIENTIFIC MANAGER: Luisa Torri
OTHER UNISG RESEARCHERS INVOLVED: Maria Piochi, Michele Filippo Fontefrancesco, Riccardo Migliavada, Andrea Devecchi, Michele Ricci
DURATION OF THE PROJECT: 14 months (November 2023 – December 2024)
FUNDING INSTRUMENT: NODES – Nord Ovest Digitale e Sostenibile: BANDO POC ACCADEMICI SPOKE 7 – Agroindustria Secondaria
MAIN INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AREA IN UNISG: Environment
SDGs:
Description
Obesity and related diseases are a global social problem that affects people’s health, the economy and the environment. One of the causes certainly includes an improper diet characterized by high energy intake, rich in saturated fat, sugar, salt and ultra-processed foods. Such a dietary pattern (i.e. western diet) not only harms individual health but also has a negative impact on the environment.
The Mediterranean Diet (DM), on the other hand, is widely recognized as a healthy and sustainable diet model with significant benefits to human health and the environment. However, adherence to DM is declining, even in countries historically associated with it, such as Italy. It is therefore necessary to adopt policies and actions involving multiple stakeholders to promote it.
To this end, a web app based on a reward system was designed in 2021: users accumulate points by purchasing healthy, quality food, which they can exchange for material goods. A prototype of the app was the subject of a feasibility study conducted with a limited number of users, which provided encouraging preliminary results and led to the presentation of a dissertation at the Turin UNESCO club and a publication in a scientific journal of international relevance.
The goal of the DMD project is to improve the existing technology, on the one hand by enriching it with new features related to health aspects and adding new ones related to the environmental sustainability of purchasing choices, and on the other hand by validating the web app through a study in a real operating environment and with a large and significant number of users. Specifically, the web app will be validated with the collaboration of one or more enterprises in the food processing and distribution sector in a corporate welfare and well-being perspective.
Companies participating in the project will adopt the web app to promote the health of their employees through a win-win approach: workers will be incentivized to improve their own health and that of the environment, while employers will have potentially healthier and more environmentally friendly employees.
Web site
The first version of the Eatmed web-app is ready and can be reached via this link. As a reminder, at this stage the functionality of the site is accessible only to registered participants of the project.
News from the project
- 10/02/2024: The DMD-Digital Mediterranean Diet project was presented as part of the official UNISG Orientation Day on the Gastronomic Sciences.
- 04/15/2024: The EATMED web-app and the DMD-Digital Mediterranean Diet project was presented to the students of the Hotelier Institute of Arma di Taggia by Dr. Andrea Devecchi.
Publications
Updating
Announcements
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Questo progetto di ricerca fa parte del progetto NODES, sostenuto dal MUR sui fondi PNRR MUR – M4C2 – Investimento 1.5 Avviso “Ecosistemi dell’Innovazione”, nell’ambito del PNRR finanziato dall’Unione europea – NextGenerationEU (Grant agreement Cod. n.ECS00000036)