Dietary Modification
Conditions
Brief summary
Over 35,000 Canadians, 65% of men and 72% of women aged 31-50 years fail to consume the recommended number of milk and milk product servings (≤2 servings per day). Given the wide range of health benefits associated with increased dietary intake of milk and milk products the objectives of this study were to conduct a prospective, 5-arm randomised controlled trial in order to test the effectiveness of a variety of messages for increasing milk and milk product consumption in men and women aged 30-50 years old. The five arms consisted of 4 messages that contained slightly different content specifically: 1) gain-framed message condition, 2) loss-framed message condition, 3) self-regulatory efficacy-enhancing message condition, 4) gain-framed and self-regulatory efficacy-enhancing message condition and 5) loss-framed plus self-regulatory efficacy-enhancing message condition. It was hypothesised that those who receive self-regulatory efficacy-enhancing information would consume more dairy than those who received messages without such information. Second, those who received gain-framed messages would consume more dairy as compared to those who received loss-framed messages. Third, those who received gain-framed messages that include self-regulatory efficacy-enhancing information would consume the most dairy in comparison to the other four conditions.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALGain-Framed
Participants will be randomised to one of five message conditions. Each condition will receive a total of four emailed messages on four consecutive days (i.e., 1 message per day). Participants in the Gain-Framed message condition will receive message content that highlights the potential benefits of consuming milk and milk products (i.e., high protein content, stronger hair and nail etc.)
BEHAVIORALLoss-Framed
Participants will be randomised to one of five message conditions. Each condition will receive a total of four emailed messages on four consecutive days (i.e., 1 message per day). Participants in the Loss-Framed message condition will receive message content that highlights the potential losses of not consuming milk and milk products (i.e., lack of essential nutrients, less calcium).
BEHAVIORALSelf-Regulatory Efficacy
Participants will be randomised to one of five message conditions. Each condition will receive a total of four emailed messages on four consecutive days (i.e., 1 message per day). Participants in the Self-Regulatory Efficacy message condition will receive information pertaining to how to include milk and milk products within their diet. This information will come in the form of recipes, meal planning, food combining etc.
BEHAVIORALGain-Framed + Self-Regulatory Efficacy
Participants will be randomised to one of five message conditions. Each condition will receive a total of four emailed messages on four consecutive days (i.e., 1 message per day). Participants in the Gain-Framed message + Self-Regulatory Efficacy condition will receive message content that highlights the potential benefits of consuming milk and milk products (i.e., high protein content, stronger hair and nail etc.) and information pertaining to how to include milk and milk products within their diet.
BEHAVIORALLoss-Framed + Self-Regulatory Efficacy
Participants will be randomised to one of five message conditions. Each condition will receive a total of four emailed messages on four consecutive days (i.e., 1 message per day). Participants in the Loss-Framed message + Self-Regulatory Efficacy condition will receive message content that highlights the potential losses of not consuming milk and milk products (i.e., lack of essential nutrients, less calcium) and information pertaining to how to include milk and milk products within their diet.
Sponsors
University of British Columbia
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
30 Years to 50 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Between 30 and 50 years of age * Consume less than 2 servings of milk or milk products per day * No health or religious reasons to avoid milk and milk products * Regular access to the internet * Can speak and read English
Exclusion criteria
* Dietary restrictions, allergies, or medical reasons for limiting dairy intake will be excluded
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Changes from baseline in calcium from dairy at 1 and 4-week follow up | Baseline, 1-week follow-up, 4-week follow-up | Calcium consumed from dairy was assessed using a modified version of the Calcium Calculator™ developed by the British Columbia Dairy Foundation. The original tool assesses consumption of calcium from a comprehensive list of 30 commonly consumed calcium containing products. For this study individuals were asked to indicate the portions they ate of 10 dairy products included in the list. An explanation of a portion was provided for each item. Milligrams of calcium consumed by participants on the previous day was determined for baseline, week 1 and week 4 follow-up. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Self-Regulatory Efficacy | Baseline, Immedately after the Intervention (1-day), 4-Week Follow-Up | Changes in participants self-regulatory efficacy beliefs was assessed using an 18-item measure at baseline, 1-day after completion of the intervention and at 4-week follow-up. Self-regulatory efficacy beliefs items were context specific. Responses were scored on a scale of 0% (not at all) to 100% (extremely confident) with response options in 10% increments. |
| Outcome Expectations | Baseline, Immedately after the Intervention (1-day), 4-Week Follow-Up | Changes in participants outcome expectations was assessed at baseline, 1-day after completion of the intervention and at 4-week follow-up. The perceived likelihood of positive (16 items) and negative (5 items) outcomes occurring as a result of consuming milk and milk products was assessed using a 21-item measure. Responses were scored on a 9-point scale from 1 (very unlikely) to 9 (very likely). |
| Outcome Values | Baseline, Immedately after the Intervention (1-day), 4-Week Follow-Up | Changes in participants outcome values was assessed at baseline, 1-day after completion of the intervention and at 4-week follow-up. The perceived value of positive (16 items) and negative (5 items) outcomes occurring as a result of consuming milk and milk products was assessed using a 21-item measure. Responses were scored on a 9-point scale with a range of 1 (little value to me) to 9 (high value to me). |
Countries
Canada
Outcome results
None listed