Mobile Goal-setting Intervention to Improve Vegetable Intake Among Young College Students

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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This study used a two-group pre-posttest experimental design. After completing a background survey, participants used their smartphones to uploaded photos and/or descriptions of their meals to an online platform for three days. In addition, those in the intervention group were asked to use a checklist to count the number of times they ate red/orange vegetables and to set a goal to eat one more time the next day. The dependent variable was a measure of eating behavior-an estimate (number of times/day) of red/orange vegetable intake on that day based on review of uploaded photos and descriptions. Those in the intervention group, who were asked to use a checklist to count their red/orange vegetable intake and set a goal to eat one more the next day, improved their vegetable intake.

Official Title
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Effectiveness of Self-Monitoring and Goal Setting on Improving Consumption of Red/Orange Vegetables Among Undergraduate Students: A Pre-Posttest Experiment

Conditions
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Diet, Healthy

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Mobile goal-setting intervention


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Aged 18 and above Undergraduate at the university Currently lived in a dorm Owned a smartphone Had internet access on their smartphone Exclusion Criteria: Already part of a study to change their eating behaviors

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 23 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Interventional Model Description: Participants were randomized to either an experimental or a control group after they completed a preliminary questionnaire.
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Experimental Group<br>The experimental group were asked to count the number of times they ate any red/orange vegetables and set a goal to eat one more time the next day over three days. | Behavioral: Mobile goal-setting intervention<br>* This intervention applied two constructs from the goal setting theory-self-monitoring and goal setting. Briefly, all participants were asked to take photos of all their meals and upload them with descriptions to an online platform. The participants in the experimental group were taken through two additional processes that represented these two constructs. Self-monitoring was operationalized by asking those in the experimental group to count the number of times they ate red/orange vegetables using a counting checklist. Goal setting was operationalized as asking them to set a goal to eat red/orange vegetables one more time tomorrow.<br>|
| No Intervention: Control Group<br>The control group uploaded photos and/or descriptions of their meals only. They did not self-monitor their vegetable intake nor set a goal to eat more. | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Red/orange vegetable intake | Number of times participants consumed red/orange vegetables | Three days |