Fig. 1

Flexibility of prescribed diets. This was assessed as the “flexibility of the prescribed diet to fit in with usual dietary habits” of the participants. It was assessed on a 9-point Likert scale [31, 33] of 1 = it fits in with my usual way of eating; 2 = it seems to contradict what I thought was healthy; 3 = it is difficult to combine with the rest of the family; 4 = it makes it difficult to eat out; 5 = it combines easily with other dietary advice I have been given; 6 = it is more expensive than my usual way of eating; 7 = I seem to have to eat more than I want; 8 = there are lots of foods I can no longer eat; 9 = I do not need to make any changes. During analysis, the responses for “1, 5, and 9” were combined to represent “flexible and fits with usual way of eating and previous dietary advice received”; “3 and 4” were combined to represent “not flexible, cannot combine with family meals, and cannot eat out.” Responses “6 and 7” were also combined to represent “more expensive and I seem to eat more”