Impact of Personalized Goal Setting and Smartphone-Based Nutrition Counseling on Dietary Habit Improvement and Weight Loss among City Bus Drivers with Overweight and Obesity

Background/Objectives: This study investigates the impact of personalized goal setting and smartphone-based nutrition counseling on dietary habit improvement and weight loss among city bus drivers with overweight and obesity. Methods: The intervention program was conducted for 52 city bus drivers with overweight and obesity who agreed to participate in the program. Before the program, three specific action goals for behavior modification, including two dietary goals and one activity goal, were individually established, and a goal checklist and a smartwatch were provided to monitor goal attainment. Smartphone-based nutrition counseling using Kakao Talk messenger by a dietitian was conducted for six weeks. Each participant sent the checklist and the smartwatch record to the dietitian once a week, and the dietitian provided feedback through messages. Health habits, dietary habits, food consumption, and anthropometry were measured before and after the intervention. Results: After the intervention, the frequency of alcohol drinking significantly decreased, physical activity increased, and perceived health status improved; the consumption frequencies of multi-grain rice and milk/dairy products significantly increased; and the consumption frequencies of instant noodles, snacks, late-night meals, sweet- and salty-foods decreased significantly compared to those before the program. In addition, after six weeks, the average weight, body mass index, body fat mass, percent body fat, and waist circumference significantly decreased. Most participants (94.2%) were satisfied with nutrition counseling, and 88.5% and 75.0% of participants answered that the intervention program was helpful in improving their dietary habits and in managing their body weight, respectively. Conclusion/Implications: Despite the short intervention period of six weeks, positive changes in health habits, dietary habits, and weight loss were observed. Personalized goal setting and smartphone-based nutrition counseling is considered a good model for dietary habit improvement and weight loss for time-limited workers, such as bus drivers, who have difficulty in making time for nutrition intervention.