To examine diet patterns and behavior, we launched the ADAPT Study in 2015, at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. This study collects a breadth of evidence on the psychobiological, cultural, social, and environmental predictors of long-term dietary adherence to healthy dietary patterns in adults.

ADAPT is not currently recruiting. We are using this time to substantially upgrade our participant portal. We plan to begin actively recruiting participants again sometime at the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021. Please check back for updates!

What makes ADAPT different than other research studies on food and nutrition?

ADAPT is the first study (that we know of) to focus on examining popular diet followers and the many factors that play a role in how well people adhere to (stick to) their chosen dietary patterns.

The question of how individuals can successfully adhere to healthier dietary patterns is of great public health importance due to the growing burden of chronic disease risk associated with overweight/obesity.

These popular diets can include, but are not limited to, the following:

♦ Paleo ♦ vegan ♦ vegetarian ♦ Mediterranean ♦ whole-food, plant-based ♦ whole food omnivorous ♦ and many others…

While these diets are all very different, one common factor is that they typically emphasize more unrefined foods than the traditional Western diet.

Keep in mind, though, that anyone can participate in ADAPT. You do not need to follow a specific, popular diet to participate. Your dietary pattern is unique to YOU, and we want to know about it!



What exactly do we mean by “diet”?

In ADAPT, the terms “diet” or “dietary pattern” are used to describe your overall eating preferences, not necessarily a plan you follow for weight loss, though some people may be following diets for weight loss.

Using the data generated from ADAPT, we hope to examine:

How closely people’s reported dietary patterns compare to the actual principles of that targeted dietary pattern. For example, if someone reports eating a vegan diet, how closely does what they eat match up to the principles of the vegan diet?

How nutrient compositions vary within and between different dietary patterns?

Which factors are most strongly associated with long-term adherence to specific dietary patterns?

Which factors best predict continued adherence (successfully sticking with the diet) in new followers? Do these factors differ across dietary patterns?

What are the eco-social factors associated with long-term (2+ years) adherence among followers of different diets. In other words, which factors seem to help individuals adhere to diets over the long term?

ADAPT Feasibility Survey

In the summer of 2015, we conducted the ADAPT Feasibility Survey, which was a short survey to learn about whether people would be interested in participating in a bigger study about behaviors, lifestyle, and dietary patterns. We had a great response, with over 9,000 people expressing interest in a future study. That led us here— to a bigger and more comprehensive ADAPT study.

Participate in ADAPT!

Thank you to all of our study participants! We are not currently recruiting, as we are updating our participant portal. Please check back for updates! We plan to recruit again at the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021.

Ongoing Support

ADAPT is funded thanks, in part, to research funding from:

The Lisa Wendel Memorial Foundation

Tufts Collaborates Seed Grant 2016-17