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Completed

NCT Number: NCT06175026

Encouraging Healthy and Sustainable Dietary Substitutions

The aim of this study is to examine emerging adults' responses to dietary substitution messages about health, the environment, or both health and the environment.

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Key information

Conditions

Food Selection Behavior Feeding Behavior Food Preferences

Age range

18 year–25 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Stanford School of Medicine

Palo Alto, California, 94304, United States

About this study

This online study will examine emerging adults' responses to dietary substitution messages about 4 different topics. Participants will be randomized to 1 of 4 topic arms: 1) Control (neutral topic, not related to health or the environment); 2) Health topic; 3) Environment topic; 4) Health and Environment topic. Participants will view messages about each of 4 dietary substitutions: replacing red meat with chicken or vegetarian options; replacing dairy milk with non-dairy milk; replacing juice with whole fruit; and replacing sugar-sweetened beverages with water. For each dietary substitution, participants will view 2 messages about their assigned topic, with the 2 messages shown in random order. Participants will rate each message on perceived message effectiveness (primary outcome).

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Age between 18-25 years
  • Reside in the United States
  • Ability to complete a survey in English

Exclusion criteria

  • Older than 25 years; younger than 18 years
  • Reside outside of the United States
  • Unable to complete a survey in English

Treatment and study plan

Health Messages

Behavioral

Participants view messages about the health impacts of certain dietary substitutions.

Environmental messages

Behavioral

Participants view messages about the environmental impacts of certain dietary substitutions.

Health and environmental messages

Behavioral

Participants view messages about the health and environmental impacts of certain dietary substitutions.

Neutral messages

Behavioral

Participants view neutral messages unrelated to the health and environmental impacts of certain dietary substitutions.

Primary outcomes

  1. Perceived Message Effectiveness

    Time frame: Survey questions administered after participant viewed each message; overall survey took up to 20 minutes

    Participants will rate each message on perceived message effectiveness (PME) for encouraging participants to make the target dietary substitution. PME will be assessed with 4 items [the text shown in brackets will be tailored to each substitution]:

    • How much does this message discourage you from wanting to [eat beef and pork / drink juice / drink cow's milk / drink sugary drinks]?
    • How much does this message make [eating beef and pork, etc.] seem unpleasant to you?
    • How much does this message make you concerned about the effects of [eating beef and pork, etc.]?
    • How much does this message make you want to [eat chicken or vegetarian options instead of beef and pork, etc.]?

    The response options for each item are: 1=Not at all, 2=Very little, 3=Somewhat, 4=Quite a bit, 5=A great deal.

    Investigators will average responses to these 4 items to create a perceived message effectiveness score. Higher scores indicated higher perceived message effectiveness.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Stanford University

Other

Collaborators

  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Registry information

Official study title

Encouraging Healthy and Sustainable Dietary Substitutions: A Randomized Experiment With Emerging Adults

Important dates

Study start
2024
Primary completion
2024
Study completion
2024
First posted
Dec 18, 2023
Registry last updated
Nov 12, 2024

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.

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