Implementation of the "Eetscore" in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: relevant tool in clinical practice?

Diet is of great importance for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
There is no specific diet with a proven beneficial effect on the course of the
disease. However, the Dutch food-based dietary guidelines do most certainly
apply to IBD patients. The "Eetscore" is an online tool to assess the extent
to which someone eats and drinks according to these guidelines. Subsequently,
the "Eetscore" gives practical advice based on the participants' results, to
eat and drink healthier according to the Dutch dietary guidelines. To date, the
"Eetscore" has not been used by patients with IBD.

Our primary objective is to determine whether adherence to Dutch dietary
guidelines is associated with quality of life in patients with IBD. Secondary
objectives are to evaluate the adherence of IBD patients to Dutch dietary
guidelines, whether use of the "Eetscore" leads to an improvement in adherence
to Dutch dietary guidelines, whether use of the "Eetscore" leads to an
improvement in quality of life and a decrease in clinical disease activity, to
determine whether adherence to Dutch dietary guidelines is associated with
clinical disease activity. We will also evaluate the opinion of IBD patients of
the "Eetscore" tool.

Prospective cohort study without a control group.

Participants are invited times to use the "Eetscore": at the start of the study
and after 1 and 4 months. The "Eetscore" consists of a digital questionnaire to
assess the extent to which someones diet meets the Dutch dietary guidelines for
16 food components, including meat, vegetables, fruit and fish. Depending on
the score of a participant, a participant will receive advice per food
component with practical tips to work independently on a healthy diet.

Participants gain more insight into their own diet and the quality of their
diet against the Dutch food-based dietary guidelines by completing the
"Eetscore" and reviewing their results. Participants are then given practical
advice how to improve the quality of their diet if necessary. When participants
use these tips, improving the quality of their diet may have beneficial effect
on their chronic bowel disease and thus lead to better overall health. There
are no risks associated with participating in this study. The possible risk of
participants receiving general nutritional advice that is not suitable for them
is covered by excluding participants with certain allergies. The only drawback
for participants is the time load, they have to fill in the "Eetscore" and an
additional questionnaire at 3 timepoints over a period of 4 months.