Nutritional Status, Nutrition Assessment
Conditions
Keywords
fruit and vegetables, food intake, knowledge
Brief summary
This is a randomized controlled trial to assess the impact of a novel fruit and vegetable mobile phone application on fruit and vegetable intakes, knowledge and attitudes.
Detailed description
The 5-a-day fruit and vegetable (FV) message from the WHO recommends consumption of five 80g portions of different FV per day for health reasons. Recent research suggests that the details of the message are poorly understood by the population as a whole, by low consumers of FV and by those in demographic groups of traditional low FV consumption, and that this poor knowledge impacts on implementation of the message to result in low FV intakes. To aid implementation of the recommendations, investigators have developed a 5-a-day FV mobile phone application (app) prototype. The basic prototype app will provide information on the 5-a-day message, allow users to input consumption, and provides consumers with accurate knowledge of their adherence to the recommendations. This study will investigate the use and impact of the prototype app on FV intakes over a two or four week period. For significant impacts on health, sustained user engagement and use will be required. Up to 100 participants will be randomised to either receive or not receive the app, and will be asked to use the app for the following two or four weeks. FV intake will be assessed at baseline, 2 weeks, 4 weeks. Measures of app use will also be taken at these time points. Measures of FV knowledge will also be measured at these time points. Measures of FV attitudes were initially planned but not undertaken to reduce demand characteristics for participants. The investigators anticipate that changes in intakes will be mediated by changes in knowledge and attitudes.
Interventions
BEHAVIORAL5-a-day fruit and vegetable mobile phone application
5-a-day fruit and vegetable mobile phone application
Sponsors
Bournemouth University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* able to provide informed consent * speaks English, owns an android mobile telephone * able and willing to use phone and complete all measures
Exclusion criteria
* none
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Fruit and Vegetable Intakes (Self-report, Questionnaire Assessment) | Intervention end | Self-report, questionnaire assessment |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Fruit and Vegetable Knowledge (Questionnaire Assessment) | Intervention end | FV knowledge will be assessed by the FV knowledge questionnaire published in Appleton et al. J Hum Nutr Diet, 2018;31:121-130. The questionnaire assessed four aspects of FV knowledge in relation to the UK 5-a-day recommendations. The portion sizes subscale is provided, where positive scores are given for correct responses, and negative scores for incorrect responses. Min. max scores are -27, 27. Higher scores show greater knowledge. |
| App Usage | Intervention end | Number of days on which users interacted with the app. |
Participant flow
Participants by arm
| Arm | Count |
|---|---|
| Intervention for Two Weeks Receipt of the mobile phone application for two weeks
5-a-day fruit and vegetable mobile phone application: 5-a-day fruit and vegetable mobile phone application | 32 |
| Control for Two Weeks Usual habitual activity - no receipt of mobile phone application for two weeks | 27 |
| Intervention for Four Weeks Receipt of the mobile phone application for four weeks
5-a-day fruit and vegetable mobile phone application: 5-a-day fruit and vegetable mobile phone application | 18 |
| Control for Four Weeks Usual habitual activity - no receipt of mobile phone application for four weeks | 17 |
| Total | 94 |
Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | Total | Intervention for Two Weeks | Control for Two Weeks | Intervention for Four Weeks | Control for Four Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, Continuous | 23.4 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 7.5 | 22.3 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 7.7 | 21.4 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 5.3 | 25.9 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 7.9 | 25.9 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 7.9 |
| FV intake | 3.9 FV portions per day STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.9 | 3.9 FV portions per day STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.5 | 3.7 FV portions per day STANDARD_DEVIATION 2.3 | 4.4 FV portions per day STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.2 | 3.7 FV portions per day STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.3 |
| FV knowledge | -7.1 Scores on a scale STANDARD_DEVIATION 5.8 | -5.5 Scores on a scale STANDARD_DEVIATION 6.5 | -7.6 Scores on a scale STANDARD_DEVIATION 6.3 | -8.2 Scores on a scale STANDARD_DEVIATION 5.1 | -8.1 Scores on a scale STANDARD_DEVIATION 4.8 |
| Race and Ethnicity Not Collected | 0 Participants | — | — | — | — |
| Region of Enrollment United Kingdom | 94 Participants | 32 Participants | 27 Participants | 18 Participants | 17 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Female | 63 Participants | 22 Participants | 17 Participants | 12 Participants | 12 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Male | 31 Participants | 10 Participants | 10 Participants | 6 Participants | 5 Participants |
Adverse events
| Event type | EG000 affected / at risk | EG001 affected / at risk | EG002 affected / at risk | EG003 affected / at risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| deaths Total, all-cause mortality | 0 / 32 | 0 / 27 | 0 / 18 | 0 / 17 |
| other Total, other adverse events | 0 / 32 | 0 / 27 | 0 / 18 | 0 / 17 |
| serious Total, serious adverse events | 0 / 32 | 0 / 27 | 0 / 18 | 0 / 17 |
Outcome results
Primary
Fruit and Vegetable Intakes (Self-report, Questionnaire Assessment)
Self-report, questionnaire assessment
Time frame: Intervention end
Population: Intention-to-Treat
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intervention for Two Weeks | Fruit and Vegetable Intakes (Self-report, Questionnaire Assessment) | 3.8 FV portions per day | Standard Deviation 1.7 |
| Control for Two Weeks | Fruit and Vegetable Intakes (Self-report, Questionnaire Assessment) | 2.6 FV portions per day | Standard Deviation 2 |
| Intervention for Four Weeks | Fruit and Vegetable Intakes (Self-report, Questionnaire Assessment) | 5.2 FV portions per day | Standard Deviation 1.6 |
| Control for Four Weeks | Fruit and Vegetable Intakes (Self-report, Questionnaire Assessment) | 4.0 FV portions per day | Standard Deviation 1.8 |
Secondary
App Usage
Number of days on which users interacted with the app.
Time frame: Intervention end
Population: Control participants did not receive the app, so no app data is available
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intervention for Two Weeks | App Usage | 11.4 days used | Standard Deviation 7.2 |
| Intervention for Four Weeks | App Usage | 13.7 days used | Standard Deviation 9.2 |
Secondary
Fruit and Vegetable Knowledge (Questionnaire Assessment)
FV knowledge will be assessed by the FV knowledge questionnaire published in Appleton et al. J Hum Nutr Diet, 2018;31:121-130. The questionnaire assessed four aspects of FV knowledge in relation to the UK 5-a-day recommendations. The portion sizes subscale is provided, where positive scores are given for correct responses, and negative scores for incorrect responses. Min. max scores are -27, 27. Higher scores show greater knowledge.
Time frame: Intervention end
Population: Intention-to-Treat
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intervention for Two Weeks | Fruit and Vegetable Knowledge (Questionnaire Assessment) | -2.5 scores on a scale | Standard Deviation 7.7 |
| Control for Two Weeks | Fruit and Vegetable Knowledge (Questionnaire Assessment) | -5.5 scores on a scale | Standard Deviation 8.7 |
| Intervention for Four Weeks | Fruit and Vegetable Knowledge (Questionnaire Assessment) | -7.7 scores on a scale | Standard Deviation 9.5 |
| Control for Four Weeks | Fruit and Vegetable Knowledge (Questionnaire Assessment) | -5.3 scores on a scale | Standard Deviation 8.1 |