Online Intervention for Sustainable Eating

Overseen By Jess Haines, PhD

Age: Any Age

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: University of Guelph

Disqualifiers: Nutrition education, Food allergies, Vegetarian, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: Unknown

330 Participants Needed

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This study will examine the effectiveness of the online family-based program focused on sustainable eating compared to weekly emails about environmentally friendly behaviours.

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications.

Is the online intervention for sustainable eating, also known as Supper Heroes, safe for humans?

The research articles provided do not contain specific safety data for the online intervention for sustainable eating or its variants like Supper Heroes. Therefore, there is no relevant safety information available from these sources. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

How does the Supper Heroes treatment for sustainable eating differ from other treatments?

The Supper Heroes treatment is unique because it is an online intervention specifically designed to promote sustainable eating habits, which is not commonly addressed by other treatments. It focuses on changing eating behaviors to be more environmentally friendly, unlike traditional dietary interventions that may not consider sustainability. ^{1 2 6 7 8}

What data supports the effectiveness of the treatment Supper Heroes for sustainable eating?

The effectiveness of the Supper Heroes treatment for sustainable eating may be supported by similar interventions like the NutriSOS study, which uses a mobile app and online workshops to improve diet quality and sustainability. Additionally, online culinary and nutrition courses have shown promise in increasing vegetable consumption and improving dietary habits, suggesting that digital interventions can effectively promote healthier eating behaviors. ^{1 2 9 10 11}

Who Is on the Research Team?

Jess Haines, PhD

Principal Investigator

University of Guelph

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for families living in Ontario, Canada who have internet access and at least one child aged 9-12. They must be able to respond to English surveys. It's not for parents with food education or those with allergies that limit their diet, nor vegetarian or vegan families.

Inclusion Criteria

Live in Ontario, Canada

Have access to the internet

I have a child aged 9-12.

Exclusion Criteria

My parent(s) have formal education in nutrition or culinary arts.

Families with food allergies that would prevent them from participating in the intervention (e.g., soy products, beans or lentils)

Families who are vegetarian or vegan

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Intervention

Families participate in the 7-week online Supper Heroes program, completing weekly missions with tasks such as reading infographics, watching videos, and engaging in family activities.

7 weeks

Weekly online missions

Control

Families in the control group receive weekly emails for 7 weeks about environmentally friendly habits.

7 weeks

Weekly emails

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for changes in food waste and dietary habits 6 months after completing the intervention or control activities.

6 months

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Supper Heroes

Trial Overview The study tests an online program called Supper Heroes aimed at promoting sustainable eating within families, compared to just receiving monthly emails about eco-friendly habits.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Supper Heroes online environmentally friendly eating intervention for families Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Families randomized to the intervention group will complete a 7-week Supper Heroes program that includes activities focused on making more meals at home, reducing food waste, and eating more plant-based foods.

Group II: Control Group Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Families randomized to the control group will receive weekly emails for 7 weeks about environmentally friendly habits.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

University of Guelph

Lead Sponsor

Trials

87

Recruited

15,100+

Published Research Related to This Trial

A pilot food prescription program called Fresh Start Food Rx provided biweekly fresh fruits and vegetables and dietary education to four uninsured patients in South Miami, showing potential to improve dietary behaviors and attitudes toward healthy eating.

Participants reported an increase in the number of days they consumed fruits per week and a rise in vegetable servings, indicating that access to healthy foods and education can positively influence eating habits and perceptions about nutrition.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Prompting a Fresh Start for Adults With Food Insecurity and Increased BMI: A Case Series of Four Patients in a Food Prescription Program. Oliveira, JB., To, L., De La Cruz, Y., et al.[2021]

The Healthy Teaching Kitchen (HTK) program, implemented by the Veterans Health Administration, has been found to be acceptable and feasible for veterans, providing interactive nutrition and culinary education.

Participants in the HTK program reported increased self-efficacy for making dietary changes, suggesting that the program empowers veterans to improve their dietary and cooking habits, potentially leading to better health outcomes.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Healthy Teaching Kitchen Programs: Experiential Nutrition Education Across Veterans Health Administration, 2018. Black, M., LaCroix, R., Hoerster, K., et al.[2020]

The Canadian adverse event reporting system for herbal products is severely underreported, leading to a lack of safety data, which poses risks to consumers who often perceive these products as safe.

Health food store personnel in the Greater Toronto Area play a crucial role in reporting adverse reactions by collecting customer information during product returns, suggesting a potential pathway to improve safety monitoring and reporting for herbal products.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Adverse event reporting for herbal medicines: a result of market forces. Walji, R., Boon, H., Barnes, J., et al.[2021]

Citations

1. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Impact and evaluation of an online culinary nutrition course for health, education and industry professionals to promote vegetable knowledge and consumption. [2023]

2. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Prompting a Fresh Start for Adults With Food Insecurity and Increased BMI: A Case Series of Four Patients in a Food Prescription Program. [2021]

3. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Sustainable-psycho-nutritional intervention programme for a sustainable diet (the 'NutriSOS' study) and its effects on eating behaviour, diet quality, nutritional status, physical activity, metabolic biomarkers, gut microbiota and water and carbon footprints in Mexican population: study protocol of an mHealth randomised controlled trial. [2023]

4. Switzerland pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

FOODLIT-Trial: Protocol of a Randomised Controlled Digital Intervention to Promote Food Literacy and Sustainability Behaviours in Adults Using the Health Action Process Approach and the Behaviour Change Techniques Taxonomy during the COVID-19 Pandemic. [2022]

5. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Healthy Teaching Kitchen Programs: Experiential Nutrition Education Across Veterans Health Administration, 2018. [2020]

6. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Inclusion of Food Safety Information in Home-delivered U.K. Meal-kit Recipes. [2023]

7. Canada pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Adverse event reporting for herbal medicines: a result of market forces. [2021]

8. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

An Evaluation of Inter-coder and Intra-coder Reliability for 24-Hour Dietary Recall Data Entered in WebNEERS. [2020]

9. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The Green Eating Project: web-based intervention to promote environmentally conscious eating behaviours in US university students. [2023]

10. Canada pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

A Smartphone Intervention to Promote a Sustainable Healthy Diet: Protocol for a Pilot Study. [2023]

11. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Evaluating OzHarvest's primary-school Food Education and Sustainability Training (FEAST) program in 10-12-year-old children in Australia: protocol for a pragmatic cluster non-randomized controlled trial. [2021]