You Are What You Eat: A Randomised Controlled Trial of an Appearance-based Dietary Intervention

This study investigated whether illustration of the facial appearance benefits of fruit and vegetable consumption is able to motivate increased intake of this food group. The investigators hypothesize that individuals witnessing illustrations of the impact of a healthy diet will exhibit improvements in diet relative to a control group receiving only information on the health-benefits of this food group.

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Key information

Conditions

Fruit and Vegetable Consumption

Age range

18 year–61 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Perception Lab, School of Psychology, University of St Andrews

St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JP, United Kingdom

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

Student or staff member at University of St Andrews
Has access to email account to receive link to weekly online questionnaire.

Exclusion criteria

Exited study before completion
Unable to make dietary changes due to a medical condition

Treatment and study plan

Information-only

Behavioral

Selected pages from the British National Health Service (NHS) information booklets ["5 A Day, Just Eat More (fruit & veg)"; pages i, ii, 12-15, 20 & 21] and ["5 A Day, Just Eat More (fruit & veg): What's it all about?"; pages i-ii)] were provided to all participants on completion of baseline questionnaires. The pages provided information on recommended portion sizes, meal planning, health benefits and answered frequently asked diet-related questions

Generic appearance intervention

Behavioral

Participants in the generic appearance intervention group received images to illustrate the impact of fruit and vegetable consumption on skin appearance. Participants in this group were presented with gender congruent stimuli, constructed by averaging the facial shape and colour of four male/female faces.

Participants viewed the gender-congruent set of the resulting stimuli in two forms. Firstly, after completion of baseline questionnaires, images were displayed on a computer monitor. Participants were instructed to select what they perceived as the healthiest face colour, which was recorded by the computer program over two trials.

Participants in this group also received a take-home photo quality leaflet to further illustrate the effect of fruit and vegetable consumption on skin colour.

Personalised appearance intervention

Behavioral

Participants in this group received stimuli manipulated in identical ways to that received by the generic appearance-intervention group, except the illustrations were performed upon images of the participant's own face.

Primary outcomes

Fruit and vegetable consumption

Time frame: up to 10 weeks

Participants completed a computerised food frequency questionnaire to establish fruit and vegetable consumption. Participants were asked to retrospectively report consumption frequency of fruit juice, fruit, vegetable juice, salad, vegetable soup and vegetable items over the past seven days. Participants reported consumption of standard portion sizes and were provided with NHS illustrations of portion size guidelines to assist estimations.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Perception Lab

Other

Collaborators

Unilever R&D

Registry information

Important dates

Study start: 2011
Primary completion: 2011
Study completion: 2011
First posted: Jan 18, 2012
Registry last updated: Jan 18, 2012

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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Completed