Evaluating Household Food Behavior With a Smartphone App

Study Overview
=================
Brief Summary
-----------------
The purpose of this study is to test the use of a smartphone app as a way to measure food waste. Investigators propose to improve the accuracy and convenience of household food waste measurement so that consumer food waste program evaluations yield more power, less bias, less measurement error, and greater representation of targeted populations.

Detailed Description
-----------------
Investigators will improve measurement via the development of the FoodImage smartphone app, a technology leveraging the investigators' expertise in creating and deploying apps to measure food intake and deliver nutritional interventions in free-living household conditions. Investigators will validate the app against weighed waste in a controlled laboratory setting. The study will yield an app ready for future study deployment while analyses of the data will inform rapidly evolving policy discussions concerning optimal approaches to reduce food waste. These outcomes align with program priorities to understand the economics of food waste and to use behavioral economics to address consumption behavior. Specific objectives include: Development of FoodImage, a smartphone app that measures household food waste and food-waste-related behaviors, Assess differences in the accuracy and time burden of measurements taken with the FoodImage app versus current household food waste measurement approaches (a pen-and-paper diary) Use the FoodImage app in a pilot randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate the effectiveness of reducing household food waste through behavioral nudges in the form of personalized feedback about food waste levels and household-specific reduction goals.

Official Title
-----------------
Evaluating Household Food Behavior With a Smartphone App

Conditions
-----------------
Food Habits

Intervention / Treatment
-----------------
* Other: Natural Environment/Stress Management
* Behavioral: Natural Environment/Reduce Food Waste


Participation Criteria
=================
Eligibility Criteria
-----------------
Inclusion Criteria: age 18-65 years body mass index 18.5 - 50 kg/m2, based on self-reported height and weight Shops for groceries Conducts some of the food shopping and food preparation for their household Be willing to do food shopping for the study (if necessary) Have an iPhone and an operable Apple ID, password, and email address and is willing to use these to collect data during the study, acknowledging that data usage, and associated charges, are a result of study participation Be willing to complete all study procedures corresponding to their randomization group Exclusion Criteria: In addition to those who do not meet inclusion criteria, subjects who meet any of the following criteria will be excluded from enrollment: Persons who are severely immune compromised Persons who are pregnant, as assessed by self-report Pennington employee

Ages Eligible for Study
-----------------
Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 65 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
-----------------
All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
-----------------
Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
=================
How is the study designed?
-----------------

Design Details

Primary Purpose: Other
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Interventional Model Description: A subset of subjects will complete Phase I, which is the lab-based portion of the study, prior to the RCT.
Masking: Double


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| No Intervention: Phase 1: Lab Testing (Visit 1, Day 0)<br>Participants will test the FoodImage App and Pen-and-paper Records with in a Laboratory Kitchen. Participants will use the FoodImage app and food records to measure food waste during simulated shopping trip and kitchen clean-out. Measurements will be collected by participants with both methods while lab personnel directly weigh foods to provide the criterion value. | |
| Active Comparator: Phase 2: RCT Stress Management<br>Participants will use the FoodImage app to capture data on food purchases, food waste that occurs during food preparation, food waste that is present after eating, and food waste from food purges in free-living conditions. Participants will capture baseline data for 4-7 days. After a 1-week break, participants will use the app to record food waste for approximately 4-7 days over the subsequent week. They will also receive information on stress management | Other: Natural Environment/Stress Management<br>* Participants will use the FoodImage app to capture data on food purchases, food waste that occurs during food preparation, food waste that is present after eating, and food waste from food purges in free-living conditions. Participants will capture baseline data for 4-7 days. After a 1-week break, participants will use the app to record food waste for approximately 4-7 days over the subsequent week. They will also receive information on stress management<br>|
| Experimental: Phase 2: RCT Food Waste Reduction<br>Phase 2 will occur in participants' natural environment (free-living conditions). Participants will use the FoodImage app to capture data on food purchases, food waste that occurs during food preparation, food waste that is present after eating, and food waste from food purges. Participants will use the app to record food waste for approximately 4-7 days over the subsequent week. They will also be provided with the following: Feedback on the amount of food waste their household created during the first week, A goal to reduce the next week's food waste by 20% or more, and Tips on how to reduce household food waste adapted from current consumer campaigns | Behavioral: Natural Environment/Reduce Food Waste<br>* Participants will use the FoodImage app to capture data on food purchases, food waste that occurs during food preparation, food waste that is present after eating, and food waste from food purges in free-living conditions. Participants will use the app to record food waste for approximately 4-7 days over the subsequent week. They will also be provided with the following: Feedback on the amount of food waste their household created during the first week, A goal to reduce the next week's food waste by 20% or more, and Tips on how to reduce household food waste adapted from current consumer campaigns<br>|

What is the study measuring?
-----------------
Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Phase 1: Food waste error | Determining if the error from the FoodImage app is smaller than error from the pen-and-paper records. | Lab Test, average of 4 hours at Visit 1 | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Phase 2: Weight of all household waste | Difference in change in total weight of all sources of household food waste. | Baseline to Day 14 |