None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Asthma is the most common chronic childhood disease, affecting one in seven children. Many children have asthma flare-ups, which often results in several sick days requiring increased use of medications, such as ventolin, and may lead to an emergency room visit or even a hospital admission. We have conducted studies in adults, which indicate that certain dietary changes can reduce the risk of an asthma flare-up. However, we do not know whether this is true in children. This study will examine whether the frequency of asthma flare-ups in children can be reduced, by making specific changes to the diet. We hope to gain insight into how diet may be useful for managing children with asthma.
Interventions
The intervention group will be allocated an age-appropriate high fruit and vegetable diet (that is, according to the Australian Dietary Guidelines for their age group; for 2-3 years: 3.5 combined serves per day; for 4-8 years: 6 combined serves per day; and for 9-11 years: 7 combined serves per day) and provided with weekly food hampers containing a variety of fruit and vegetable products for 6 months. Participants will be asked to limit juice intake to no more than 1/2 cup per day. No other cha
The intervention group will be allocated an age-appropriate high fruit and vegetable diet (that is, according to the Australian Dietary Guidelines for their age group; for 2-3 years: 3.5 combined serves per day; for 4-8 years: 6 combined serves per day; and for 9-11 years: 7 combined serves per day) and provided with weekly food hampers containing a variety of fruit and vegetable products for 6 months. Participants will be asked to limit juice intake to no more than 1/2 cup per day. No other changes will be made to the diet. Participants and their carer will have a 1 hour face-to-face consult with a dietitian at baseline, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 3 and 6 months, where they will be counselled on their assigned dietary intervention, including the provision of recipes and ideas to help the child adhere to the dietary recommendations. Between weeks 4 and 26, the participant's carer will receive fortnightly calls from a dietitian to address any issues relating to dietary adherence.
Sponsors
A/Prof Lisa Wood
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Subject, Investigator)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
3 Years to 11 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Physician diagosed asthma History of one or more exacerbations in the past 6 months, or at least two in the past 12 months that resulted in medical intervention usual F&V intake (assessed over the past week) below the current Australian Dietary Guidelines for their age group
Exclusion criteria
Chronic respiratory condition other than asthma; clinically important medical illness, including psychiatric or behavioural disorders and chronic medical conditions requiring regular treatment with medications, likely to affect participation; chronic use of anti-inflammatory medications, e.g. low-dose systemic corticosteroids; unable or unwilling to modify diet; diagnosed intestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease and coeliac disease
Outcome results
None listed