BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Dietitians frequently use nutrition education tools to facilitate dietary counselling sessions. Nevertheless, these tools may require adaptation to keep pace with technological advancements. This study had a 2-fold purpose: first, to identify the types of nutrition education tools currently in use, identify their limitations, and explore dietitians’ perspectives on the importance of these tools; second, to investigate the features that dietitians prefer in digital nutrition education tools. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A semi-structured face-to-face interview was conducted among 15 dietitians from selected public hospitals, primary care clinics, and teaching hospitals in Malaysia.Inductive thematic analysis of the responses was conducted using NVivo version 12 software. RESULTS: Most dietitians used physical education tools including the healthy plate model, pamphlets, food models, and flip charts. These tools were perceived as important as they facilitate the nutrition assessment process, deliver nutrition intervention, and are time efficient. However, dietitians described the current educational tools as impersonal, outdated, limited in availability due to financial constraints, unhandy, and difficult to visualise. Alternatively, they strongly favoured digital education tools that provided instant feedback, utilised an automated system, included a local food database, were user-friendly, developed by experts in the field, and seamlessly integrated into the healthcare system. CONCLUSION Presently, although dietitians have a preference for digital educational tools, they heavily rely on physical nutrition education tools due to their availability despite the perception that these tools are outdated, impersonal, and inconvenient. Transitioning to digital dietary education tools could potentially address these issues.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Dietitians frequently use nutrition education tools to facilitate dietary counselling sessions. Nevertheless, these tools may require adaptation to keep pace with technological advancements. This study had a 2-fold purpose: first, to identify the types of nutrition education tools currently in use, identify their limitations, and explore dietitians’ perspectives on the importance of these tools; second, to investigate the features that dietitians prefer in digital nutrition education tools. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A semi-structured face-to-face interview was conducted among 15 dietitians from selected public hospitals, primary care clinics, and teaching hospitals in Malaysia.Inductive thematic analysis of the responses was conducted using NVivo version 12 software. RESULTS: Most dietitians used physical education tools including the healthy plate model, pamphlets, food models, and flip charts. These tools were perceived as important as they facilitate the nutrition assessment process, deliver nutrition intervention, and are time efficient. However, dietitians described the current educational tools as impersonal, outdated, limited in availability due to financial constraints, unhandy, and difficult to visualise. Alternatively, they strongly favoured digital education tools that provided instant feedback, utilised an automated system, included a local food database, were user-friendly, developed by experts in the field, and seamlessly integrated into the healthcare system. CONCLUSION Presently, although dietitians have a preference for digital educational tools, they heavily rely on physical nutrition education tools due to their availability despite the perception that these tools are outdated, impersonal, and inconvenient. Transitioning to digital dietary education tools could potentially address these issues.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Dietitians frequently use nutrition education tools to facilitate dietary counselling sessions. Nevertheless, these tools may require adaptation to keep pace with technological advancements. This study had a 2-fold purpose: first, to identify the types of nutrition education tools currently in use, identify their limitations, and explore dietitians’ perspectives on the importance of these tools; second, to investigate the features that dietitians prefer in digital nutrition education tools. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A semi-structured face-to-face interview was conducted among 15 dietitians from selected public hospitals, primary care clinics, and teaching hospitals in Malaysia.Inductive thematic analysis of the responses was conducted using NVivo version 12 software. RESULTS: Most dietitians used physical education tools including the healthy plate model, pamphlets, food models, and flip charts. These tools were perceived as important as they facilitate the nutrition assessment process, deliver nutrition intervention, and are time efficient. However, dietitians described the current educational tools as impersonal, outdated, limited in availability due to financial constraints, unhandy, and difficult to visualise. Alternatively, they strongly favoured digital education tools that provided instant feedback, utilised an automated system, included a local food database, were user-friendly, developed by experts in the field, and seamlessly integrated into the healthcare system. CONCLUSION Presently, although dietitians have a preference for digital educational tools, they heavily rely on physical nutrition education tools due to their availability despite the perception that these tools are outdated, impersonal, and inconvenient. Transitioning to digital dietary education tools could potentially address these issues.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Dietitians frequently use nutrition education tools to facilitate dietary counselling sessions. Nevertheless, these tools may require adaptation to keep pace with technological advancements. This study had a 2-fold purpose: first, to identify the types of nutrition education tools currently in use, identify their limitations, and explore dietitians’ perspectives on the importance of these tools; second, to investigate the features that dietitians prefer in digital nutrition education tools. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A semi-structured face-to-face interview was conducted among 15 dietitians from selected public hospitals, primary care clinics, and teaching hospitals in Malaysia.Inductive thematic analysis of the responses was conducted using NVivo version 12 software. RESULTS: Most dietitians used physical education tools including the healthy plate model, pamphlets, food models, and flip charts. These tools were perceived as important as they facilitate the nutrition assessment process, deliver nutrition intervention, and are time efficient. However, dietitians described the current educational tools as impersonal, outdated, limited in availability due to financial constraints, unhandy, and difficult to visualise. Alternatively, they strongly favoured digital education tools that provided instant feedback, utilised an automated system, included a local food database, were user-friendly, developed by experts in the field, and seamlessly integrated into the healthcare system. CONCLUSION Presently, although dietitians have a preference for digital educational tools, they heavily rely on physical nutrition education tools due to their availability despite the perception that these tools are outdated, impersonal, and inconvenient. Transitioning to digital dietary education tools could potentially address these issues.

Introduction: A retrospective study was conducted with the aim of determining the factors that affect weight loss among post-bariatric surgery patients. Methods: A successful weight loss outcome in this study was defined as achieving at least 50% excess weight loss (EWL). Eligible participants were those who had undergone bariatric surgery at least two years prior to the study. Adherence to lifestyle recommendations post-bariatric surgery, binge eating, depression, and social support were assessed. Results: A total of 51 post-bariatric surgery patients were recruited with a mean post-operative period of 3.2±0.7 years. The mean preoperative weight of 116.6±28.8 kg and body mass index (BMI) 45.2±8.8 kg/m2 were significantly reduced to 86.6±21.0 kg and 33.6±6.7 kg/m2, respectively, during follow-up (p<0.001). A total of 66.7% of participants achieved successful weight loss following bariatric surgery, with a mean EWL of 73.6±21.9% and total weight loss (TWL) of 29.4±8.7%. According to multivariate regression analysis adjusted for age and gender, pre-operative weight (β=-1.580, p<0.05) and BMI (β=-1.398, p<0.05), rate of weight loss (β=1.045, p<0.01), and adherence to eating behaviour recommendations (β=0.177, p<0.05) were significant predictors of weight loss outcomes post-bariatric surgery. Conclusion: The lower pre-operative weight and BMI, the faster rate of weight loss and higher adherence towards eating behaviour advice were potential predictors of greater EWL and thus could increase the chance of successful weight loss maintenance post–bariatric surgery.