health improvement through food and lifestyle intervention based on personalized retail advice

Conditions: Metabolic Syndrome; Gut Bacteria; Personalized Nutrition

Summary: flora is a longitudinal intervention study with a randomized, parallel group design. primary objective is to improve metabolic health through gut microbiota modulation by means of a retailer-driven personalized dietary intervention in a real-life setting. four hundred flemish pre-metabolic adults will be randomly divided into a control and treatment arm, each comprising 200 participants. the study period is divided into three phases: a four weeks characterization, a twelve weeks intervention, and a four weeks post-intervention phase. during the intervention phase, control participants' online collect\&go shopping carts are adjusted in accordance with flemish food-based dietary guidelines. based on the same guidelines, participants are provided with personalized dietary advice considering their usual dietary pattern and level of food literacy. in the treatment arm, a similar intervention will be applied using guidelines based on a microbiota modulation diet (mmd). during intervention, all participants can contact a dietician helpline for additional advice on study-related dietary issues. over the five months, saliva and fecal samples will be collected on a regular basis, with an intensive sampling period of seven consecutive days at the end of each study phase. a gp consult consisting of a short medical exam, blood withdrawal and medical questionnaire takes place each month. further, online questionnaires on lifestyle, health and well-being will be sent by e-mail and each five days, participants complete a food diary through their smartphone. fecal, saliva, blood samples and meta-data will be analysed to detect changes in metabolic health.


Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria * willingness to participate to the study and to sign the informed consent (dutch) * older than 18 years * diagnosed with pre-metabolic syndrome (diagnosed with central obesity \[waist circumference ≥80 cm for women and ≥94 cm for men\] and one of the following criteria: elevated blood pressure \[systolic ≥130 mm hg, diastolic ≥85 mm hg\], raised triglycerides \[\>150 mg/dl\], reduced hdl-cholesterol \[\<40 mg/dl in men, \<50 mg/dl in women\], or raised fasting plasma glucose \[≥100 mg/dl\] * residing in belgium, no travels abroad planned longer than seven consecutive days during the five-months study period * willingness to follow dietary guidelines during the three-months intervention period * willingness to purchase bulk groceries primarily at colruyt group using the collect\&go platform during the five-months study period * access to a -20-18°c freezer exclusion criteria * chronic constipation (less than one defecation once a week) * gastro-intestinal surgery within the past 3 months * inflammatory bowel disease (ibd) or diverticulitis * irritable bowel syndrome (ibs) * any food allergy or food intolerance * metabolic syndrome * diabetes mellitus type 1 or type 2 * coeliac disease * pregnant women or women planning a pregnancy during the study period * lactating women * subjects on a specific diet (e.g. vegetarian/vegan diet, gluten-free diet, lactose-free diet, high-protein diet) * subjects being treated for hypertension or high cholesterol

Keywords: metabolic syndrome gut microbiota personalized dietary advice food literacy