Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Recruiting

NCT Number: NCT07695675

Community Dining, Walking, and Glucose in Older Adults

This study will examine whether eating lunch and dinner at a subsidized community dining site affects postmeal walking and blood glucose patterns in older adults. Participants will be community-dwelling adults aged 60 to 79 years who are eligible for a local elderly meal subsidy and have prediabetes or elevated blood glucose risk.

Each participant will complete two 6-day meal conditions in random order. In one condition, participants will eat lunch and dinner at home. In the other condition, participants will eat lunch and dinner at a subsidized community dining site. Participants will wear a continuous glucose monitor and an activity tracker so the study team can measure postmeal glucose levels, daily glucose patterns, and steps after meals.

The study will compare community dining with home eating to determine whether community dining increases postmeal walking, improves postmeal glucose responses, and affects loneliness and meal experience.

Recruiting

Interested in participating?

Request Info

Key information

Conditions

PreDiabetes Behavior Diabetes Mellitus Endocrine System Diseases Glucose Metabolism Disorders Metabolic Diseases Motor Activity Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases Prediabetic State

Age range

60 year–79 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Community Elderly Meal-Assistance Site

Changsha, Hunan, 410017, China

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Meng-Qi Zhen, MA

CONTACT

[email protected]

8618867413605

About this study

Subsidized community dining programs are designed to improve access to affordable meals for older adults, but they may also influence daily movement, social interaction, and metabolic health. Eating at a community dining site may encourage older adults to leave home, walk before or after meals, and interact with others in a shared meal environment.

This study will evaluate subsidized community dining as a real-world meal setting rather than as a prescribed exercise or dietary treatment. Participants will complete both study conditions: home eating and community dining. During the community dining condition, participants will eat lunch and dinner at a subsidized community dining site. During the home-eating condition, participants will eat lunch and dinner at home using meals designed to approximate the energy and macronutrient composition of the community dining meals.

The study will use continuous glucose monitoring and wearable activity tracking to measure postmeal glucose responses, daily glucose profiles, and postmeal steps under free-living conditions. No walking target will be prescribed. After each lunch and dinner, participants will be free to walk, sit, rest, remain at the dining site, or return home according to their usual preference.

The study will also assess loneliness and meal-condition experience to explore whether the dining setting affects social and experiential aspects of eating. Findings may help determine whether subsidized community dining can function not only as food assistance, but also as community-based infrastructure that supports healthy aging.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Community-dwelling adults aged 60 to 79 years
  • Eligible for the local elderly meal subsidy
  • Prediabetes or elevated glycemic risk, defined as HbA1c 5.7% to 6.4% or fasting plasma glucose 100 to 125 mg/dL
  • Able to consume meals orally
  • Able to walk independently without a walking aid
  • Able to attend the community dining site safely
  • Able and willing to wear a continuous glucose monitor and activity tracker
  • Able and willing to follow the home-meal plan and study procedures
  • Able to provide written informed consent

Exclusion criteria

  • HbA1c ≥6.5% or fasting plasma glucose ≥126 mg/dL
  • Diagnosed diabetes
  • Use of insulin or glucose-lowering medication
  • Severe cognitive impairment
  • Acute illness or recent hospitalization
  • Severe gastrointestinal disease affecting usual food intake or gastric emptying
  • Severe renal, hepatic, cardiovascular, or neurologic disease that would make participation unsafe
  • Skin conditions preventing continuous glucose monitor use
  • Food allergy or dietary restrictions incompatible with the standardized meal plan

Treatment and study plan

Subsidized Community Dining

Behavioral

Participants will eat lunch and dinner at a subsidized community dining site for 6 days. No walking target or exercise prescription will be given. After each meal, participants will be free to walk, sit, rest, remain at the dining site, or return home according to their usual preference.

Home Eating

Behavioral

Participants will eat lunch and dinner at home for 6 days using a standardized Chinese meal rotation designed to approximate the energy and macronutrient composition of the community dining meals.

Primary outcomes

  1. Meal-Level 0- to 90-Minute Postprandial Glucose Incremental Area Under the Curve

    Time frame: Study Days 2-13; fixed premeal baseline window through 90 minutes after completion of each lunch and dinner during the 12-day randomized meal-condition period.

    Postprandial glucose incremental area under the curve (iAUC) will be calculated for each lunch and dinner from exported timestamped continuous glucose monitoring data using the trapezoidal rule. Baseline glucose will be defined as the mean continuous glucose monitoring value during the fixed 30-minute premeal baseline window. The postprandial calculation window will extend from meal completion through 90 minutes after meal completion.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Meal-Level 0- to 90-Minute Postmeal Step Count

    Time frame: Study Days 2-13; from meal completion through 90 minutes after completion of each lunch and dinner during the 12-day randomized meal-condition period.

    Postmeal step count will be obtained from the wearable-device activity session started immediately after meal completion and stopped 90 minutes later. This outcome will be assessed separately after lunch and dinner.

  2. Meal-Level Peak Postprandial Glucose

    Time frame: Study Days 2-13; from meal completion through 90 minutes after completion of each lunch and dinner during the 12-day randomized meal-condition period.

    Peak postprandial glucose will be defined as the highest continuous glucose monitoring value during the 90-minute postmeal window after each lunch and dinner.

  3. Meal-Level Time to Peak Postprandial Glucose

    Time frame: Study Days 2-13; from meal completion through 90 minutes after completion of each lunch and dinner during the 12-day randomized meal-condition period.

    Time to peak postprandial glucose will be defined as the time, in minutes, from meal completion to the highest continuous glucose monitoring value during the 90-minute postmeal window after each lunch and dinner.

  4. Daily 24-Hour Mean Glucose

    Time frame: Study Days 2-13; over each 24-hour analytic day during the 12-day randomized meal-condition period.

    The 24-hour mean glucose will be calculated for each analytic day using valid continuous glucose monitoring readings.

  5. Daily Time Above Range

    Time frame: Study Days 2-13; over each 24-hour analytic day during the 12-day randomized meal-condition period.

    Time above range will be calculated for each analytic day as the percentage of valid continuous glucose monitoring readings above 7.8 mmol/L.

  6. Daily Combined Postmeal Steps

    Time frame: Study Days 2-13; summed across the lunch and dinner 90-minute postmeal windows on each 24-hour analytic day during the 12-day randomized meal-condition period.

    Daily combined postmeal steps will be calculated as the sum of 0- to 90-minute postmeal steps after lunch and dinner on the same analytic day.

  7. Total Daily Steps

    Time frame: Study Days 2-13; over each 24-hour analytic day during the 12-day randomized meal-condition period.

    Total daily steps will be obtained from the wearable activity tracker for each analytic day.

  8. End-of-Condition Loneliness Score

    Time frame: Baseline and end of each 6-day meal condition during the 12-day randomized meal-condition period.

    Loneliness will be assessed using the 6-item De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale. The total score ranges from 0 to 6, with higher scores indicating greater loneliness. The scale will be administered at baseline and at the end of each 6-day meal condition. End-of-condition loneliness scores will be compared between the home-eating and community-dining conditions.

  9. End-of-Condition Meal-Condition Experience and Satisfaction Score

    Time frame: End of each 6-day meal condition during the 12-day randomized meal-condition period.

    Meal-condition experience and satisfaction will be assessed using a study-specific 4-item scale covering relaxation during meals, comfort of the meal environment, opportunities for communication, and willingness to go outdoors and be active. Each item will be rated on a 5-point Likert scale. The mean score ranges from 1 to 5, with higher scores indicating a more favorable meal-condition experience.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Meng-Qi Zhen, MA

CONTACT

[email protected]

8618867413605

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Yang Zhang

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Subsidized Community Dining as Social Welfare Infrastructure for Healthy Aging: A Randomized Crossover Field Study of Postmeal Walking and Glycemic Profiles in Older Adults

Acronym: CD-WALK

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Jul 10, 2026
Registry last updated
Jul 20, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.