Effect of Consuming "Home Meals" on Body Weight
Condition: Overweight and Obesity
MeSH terms: Obesity; Overweight
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The current epidemic of obesity relates to the transition from traditional to industrialised
      diets. The present project investigates the effect on body energy of recommending the
      consumption of traditional "home meals", which may be a useful recommendation against
      obesity. A randomized controlled trial design is applied assigning participants to a
      recommendation of consuming during 12 weeks either "home meals" or "healthy meals." Frequency
      of consumption of energy-dense foods and of exercise is monitored throughout the
      intervention; weight and body fat are measured at baseline and at four-week intervals. The
      hypothesis is that consuming more frequently "home meals" reduces at least as much weight and
      adiposity as "healthy meals".
    

Detailed description: 
      Obesity is a global health problem that requires effective intervention. In Mexico, 2 out of
      3 adults are classed as overweight or obese. Weight gain from frequent consumption of energy
      dense food impairs the metabolism of lipids and glucose which causes the inflammatory state
      that underlies development of chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease. Mexican women
      with overweight or obesity consume on average 12 times per week food rich in sugar or fat.
      This indicates a high prevalence of unhealthy eating habits.

      Such unhealthy habits are however determined by the modern environment. The raise in food
      availability is associated with increase in body weight at population level. Diverse studies
      indicate also an increase in the number of fast food outlets together with an increase in the
      frequency of eating out of the home. Therefore, people are exposed to abundance of unhealthy
      food that leads to acquire the habit of consuming them.

      The informative education on "healthy" eating is a main intervention to abate obesity levels
      in the population. However, the prevalence of overweight and obesity is still increasing. In
      fact, if this trend continues, in 2025, 32 million of Mexican adults will achieve the
      diagnosis of obesity.

      New perspectives for intervention are needed against obesity. We propose "home meals" as a
      novel strategy to enhance the effectivity of educative messages on "healthy" eating that
      generally presents food out of their cultural context. Our definition of "home meal"
      considers not only the physical space where foods are consumed but also a typical socially
      accepted preparation based on local foods. This proposal about "home meals" is partly made
      because the raise of obesity in the population coincides with the replacement of traditional
      diet by consumption of industrialised unhealthy food.

      The present project develops an intervention that compares "home meals" vs. "healthy meals"
      with regards to their effect on weight and body fat. The aim is to test if the recommendation
      of eating "home meals" has a slimming effect and how it compares to that of the standard
      isocaloric recommendation of eating "healthy meals." The hypothesis is that because "home
      meals" are culturally tailored, they would be easier to practice, and so a similar
      weight/body fat loss to the "healthy meals" would be at least achieved.
    

Intervention name(s): Home meals; Healthy meals
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Adult participants with overweight or obesity are asked to consume "home meals" during 12 weeks.; Adult participants with overweight or obesity are asked to consume "healthy meals" during 12 weeks.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: Randomised controlled trial. The model tests a new dietary recommendation ("home meals" condition) against a standard dietary recommendation ("healthy meals" condition)
Masking: Single (Participant)
Primary purpose: Treatment