Diet and physical activity risk patterns in urban adults: HORUS Rijeka pilot

Background

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are driven by clusters of modifiable lifestyle behaviours that rarely occur in isolation. The Rijeka pilot of HORUS (GA No. 101136516) delivers a personalised behaviour change programme to urban adults at risk of NCDs; we profiled diet and physical activity at baseline to identify intervention targets.

Methods

Cross-sectional baseline analysis within a 9-month pre–post-controlled study (n = 156 intervention; n = 160 control). Diet quality was assessed using the rapid Prime Diet Quality Score Screener (rPDQS, 13 items), and physical activity was measured with the IPAQ short form. Group differences were assessed using Welch’s t-test, Mann–Whitney test, and χ² test.

Results

The groups differed at baseline in age (71.8±8.1 vs 65.8±16.5 years, p < 0.001) and proportion of females (87.5% vs 45.3%, p < 0.001). Intervention participants reported higher diet quality (rPDQS 30.3±4.8 vs 27.5±5.0, p < 0.001), lower fast-food intake (5.1% vs 13.1%, p = 0.02), lower processed meat intake (49.4% vs 63.1%, p = 0.005), and higher whole-grain intake (64.7% vs 41.9%, p < 0.001). Physical activity patterns also differed: more were IPAQ Moderate (60.3% vs 38.8%, p < 0.001), with more walking days (5.4±2.2 vs 4.2±2.9, p < 0.001) and fewer sitting hours (4.2±1.9 vs 5.2±2.3, p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Intervention participants — mostly older women — show clear behavioural risk: half of intervention participants consume processed meat weekly; a quarter are sedentary. These findings identify personalisation targets for HORUS-Rijeka, particularly dietary modification and reducing sedentary behaviour. Baseline imbalance will be addressed at T1 by ANCOVA adjusted for baseline, age, and sex.

Key messages

• HORUS-Rijeka intervention participants exhibit multi-domain risk, primarily related to diet quality and sedentary behaviour, which maps directly to personalisation targets.

• Baseline profiling of diet and physical activity supports targeted intervention design and personalisation for addressing specific behaviour change stages.