Yen Nhi Hoang, Dang Khanh Ngan Ho, Ya-Ling Chen, Wan-Chun Chiu, Kai-Li Liu, Tina HT Chiu, Lei-Chin Chen, Li-Wen Fang, Le Thi Huong, Nguyen Thi Thu Lieu, Nguyen Duc Hieu, Wen-Ling Lin, Takashi Sakai, Amelia Faradina, Noor Rohmah Mayasari, John Louie Jacinto Dela Vega, Elaine L Bañares, Patchara Sangopas, Jirayu Lainampetch, Dian Handayani, Jung-Su Chang
Objective: The aim was to explore the adoptive behaviors of eNutrition among students and nutrition professionals through a cross-country survey in six Asian countries. Methods: University students and nutrition professionals were recruited through a convenience sampling approach in high-income countries (HICs; Japan and Taiwan) and middle-income countries (MICs; Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines). A self-reported questionnaire was used to assess the adoption of innovative eNutrition technologies across six domains (perceived self-efficacy, perceived self-interest, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, intention to use, and actual use). The primary outcome was the actual use of eNutrition technologies. Binary and multivariable linear regression interaction terms were created to test the moderating effects of the economic development level on actual use. Results: In total, 992 participants were recruited, with 525 (52.9%) from HICs and 467 (47.1%) from MICs. A total of 34.8% of participants had used innovative eNutrition technologies, predominantly diet-tracking apps (27.02%). Participants from MICs were older, had a higher proportion of nutrition professionals, and had higher scores for perceived self-efficacy, perceived self-interest, perceived usefulness, and intention to use, along with a lower rate of having never used eNutrition technologies (all p < 0.001). An adjusted multivariate analysis showed that perceived usefulness was an independent predictor of actual use in both MICs (β = 0.21; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.11, 0.32; p < 0.001) and HICs (β = 0.18; 95% CI: 0.09, 0.27; p < 0.001). Economic development levels significantly moderated the relationship between self-efficacy and actual use (β = –0.10; 95% CI: −0.18, –0.01; pinteraction = 0.025), and between intention to use and actual use (β = 0.52; 95% CI: 0.10, 0.94; pinteraction = 0.015). Conclusions: Economic development levels may moderate the adoption of innovative eNutrition technologies, highlighting the importance of contextual factors in technology adoption. © The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work as published without adaptation or alteration, without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
School of Nutrition and Health Sciences, College of Nutrition, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Hong Bang International University, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam; Department of Nutrition, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Nutrition, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; National Center for Geriatric and Welfare Research, National Health Research Institute, Yunlin County, Taiwan; Department of Nutrition, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; School of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi, Viet Nam; College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Metabolism and Obesity Sciences, College of Nutrition, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Medical Corporation Yujinkai, Nursing Home Hohoemi no Sato Yokohama, Kanagawa, Yokohama-shi, Japan; Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Sports and Health Sciences, Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Kampus Lidah Wetan, East Java, Surabaya City, Indonesia; Program in the School of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; College of Arts and Sciences, Manila Tytana Colleges, Pasay City, Philippines; Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand; Health Science Faculty, Universitas Brawijaya, East Java, Indonesia; Nutrition Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Chinese Taipei Society for the Study of Obesity (CTSSO), Taipei, Taiwan; TMU Research Center for Digestive Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
