The UK’s leading diabetes support and research charity is working with Whisk to understand the value of technology platforms in supporting behavior change around food and nutrition.
Diabetes UK is partnering with Samsung’s Whisk, Coventry University, and the West Midlands Academic Health and Science Network (commissioned by NHS England and the Office for Life Sciences) to study the impact of technology on healthy eating behavior. This nationwide research project will involve hundreds of UK people with all types of diabetes.
There could not be a more crucial time to tackle diabetes: if nothing changes, more than five million people will have diabetes in the UK by 2025 which already costs the NHS over £10bn every year1.
Powering over 500 million recipe interactions each month with advanced, food-focused technology, Whisk is well-placed to support the fight against diabetes and this is not their first contribution. In 2018, Whisk won Ascensia’s Diabetes Challenge and is committed to helping people to better manage their diabetes.
This research project will focus on how a technology platform like Whisk, that allows users to share their food experiences collaboratively, plan meals and shop ingredients can positively influence their food behavior and help people manage their diabetes more effectively. ultimately help improve blood sugar levels.
Diabetes UK will refer users to a curated section of the Whisk platform where they can find and share healthy recipes, create meal plans and shop ingredients online or use the app in-store. The research will help Diabetes UK understand how effective such technologies can be in supporting users as they try to make sustainable changes in food behavior.
Every recipe will feature detailed nutritional analysis and Whisk’s simple to understand Health Score while the Communities feature lets users explore recipes created by people with similar preferences and interests or create and share their own favorites: diet (like Diabetes-friendly meals), complexity (10 ingredients or less), or ease (30 minute meals) and so on.
Recipes can be shared, converted into shopping lists, added to meal plans, and more, with just a few taps, making it easier and faster to plan and cook healthy, balanced meals.
“We know that making healthier food choices is a crucial part of managing all types of diabetes, or preventing type 2 diabetes, but we all face immense challenges when it comes to making food based decisions. People with diabetes and those at risk of type 2 diabetes need to be encouraged and supported, to make lasting behavior change. A platform like Whisk can support connecting, sharing, exploring, and discovering healthy food options — all of which are invaluable to our research and can help us understand how technology could make a difference in public health.” Emma Elvin, Senior Clinical Advisor at Diabetes UK
The study will be conducted from September to the end of 2020 and will help us learn more about the needs of people affected by diabetes as we enter 2021.
Sources:
1Diabetes UK Facts and Figures Page
