Clinical trial NCT06939231: Supporting University Students Transition Towards Sustainable and Healthy Dietary Behaviours: A Living Lab Approach.
Official title: Supporting University Students' Transition Towards Sustainable and Healthy Dietary Behaviours: A Living Lab Approach.
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: Dietary Behaviours
Sustainable Healthy Diet
Personalised Nutrition
Keywords: Sustainable diet
Personalised nutrition
Dietary behaviours
University
Students
Living Lab
Lead sponsor: University College Dublin
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: PLAN'EAT Consortium (https://planeat-project.eu/)
First posted: 2025-04-22
Enrollment: 520
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 30
Standard ages: ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: NA
Intervention model: SEQUENTIAL
Intervention model description: Sequential
Primary purpose: OTHER

Brief summary: The aim of this study is to test the efficacy, feasibility, and acceptability of the UCD PLAN'EAT Living Lab in promoting sustainable and healthy dietary behaviours among university students. This study will compare within participant changes in diet-related pre-specified outcomes (detailed below) at Living Lab baseline and endpoint and examine differences across participant engagement levels (e.g., low engagement versus high engagement) in Living Lab studies and events/ activities.

Detailed description: The University College Dublin (UCD) Living Lab (LL) is a series of small studies designed to develop, implement, and evaluate strategies and interventions to support university students' transition towards a sustainable and healthy diet. The LL will use a participant-centred process involving established LL methodology, with stakeholders and students actively feeding into the study design. The baseline and endpoint data collection measures of the UCD PLAN'EAT LL are described in detail below, followed by an outline of a series of planned studies. The final design and outcome(s) of each will evolve as the LL progresses.

Two groups will be recruited to the UCD PLAN'EAT LL: a) UCD student participants, and b) stakeholder participants, on or connected to UCD Belfield Campus. Student and Stakeholder involvement in the LL is detailed separately below.

1. Student participants

   The LL study will recruit up to n=500 healthy students (aged 18-30 years) attending UCD Belfield Campus, to join the UCD PLAN'EAT LL Citizen panel. Upon successful screening and completion of informed consent, participants will be invited to join the UCD PLAN'EAT LL Citizen Panel, and then complete an initial baseline data collection, as described below. Following completion of baseline data collection measures, participants within the UCD PLAN'EAT LL Citizen Panel will subsequently be invited to participate in a series of studies (Study 1-3 detailed below), which will each form a separate registration. Students will also be invited to attend sustainable and healthy diet-related events/ activities. Following baseline data collection, subsequent participation in the LL series of studies (Study 1-3) and events/ activities is optional for all participants recruited to the UCD PLAN'EAT LL Citizen Panel.

   PLAN'EAT LL Citizen Panel Data Collection: LL Baseline

   Following informed consent, all participants recruited to the UCD PLAN'EAT LL Citizen Panel will be asked to complete a demographic, health, and lifestyle questionnaire, a diet-related questionnaire, and dietary assessment. The diet-related questionnaire will examine dietary attitudes and behaviours, including barriers and enablers of sustainable and healthy food choices, nutrition knowledge, sustainable food literacy, self-efficacy, self-regulation, food neophobia, stage of change, and the self-report behavioural automaticity index. The dietary assessment will include: up to 3 online 24-hour dietary recalls (aim: 2 non-consecutive weekdays and 1 weekend day) via the web-based dietary recall tool, Foodbook24. All data will be collected using a secure online data collection platform.

   PLAN'EAT LL Citizen Panel Data Collection: LL Endpoint

   At the end of the overall LL study or when participants are completing their course of study at UCD, all participating students recruited to the PLAN'EAT LL Citizen Panel (detailed above) will be asked to complete a demographic, health, and lifestyle questionnaire, a diet-related questionnaire, and dietary assessment. The diet-related questionnaire will examine dietary attitudes and behaviours, including barriers and enablers of sustainable and healthy food choices, nutrition knowledge, sustainable food literacy, self-efficacy, self-regulation, food neophobia, stage of change, and the self-report behavioural automaticity index. The dietary assessment will include: up to 3 online 24-hour dietary recalls (aim: 2 non-consecutive weekdays and 1 weekend day) via the web-based dietary recall tool, Foodbook24. All data will be collected using a secure online data collection platform.

   UCD PLAN'EAT LL Citizen Panel Process Evaluation:

   At the end of the overarching LL study, UCD student participants will be invited to complete a study evaluation questionnaire. In addition, a subsample of UCD student participants will also be invited to participate in focus groups or one-to-one interviews at the end of the LL study to explore topics encompassing, for example, their study experience, study acceptability, factors affecting participation rates (e.g., barriers and enablers), study engagement, and suggestions for improvement. However, in line with the LL methodology, the evaluation details will be more fully articulated and confirmed as the LL study progresses.

   PLAN'EAT LL Citizen Panel Study 1: Behaviour-focused personalised nutrition intervention to promote sustainable and healthy diets in university students: a feasibility pilot study.

   The aim of Study 1 is to test the efficacy, feasibility, and acceptability of a novel, behaviour-focused personalised nutrition intervention compared to a control personalised nutrition intervention for improving adherence to sustainable and healthy diets in university students. This study has formed a separate registration (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT06631469).

   PLAN'EAT LL Citizen Panel Study 2: A personalised nutrition intervention with tailored behavioural support to promote sustainable and healthy diets in university students.

   The aim of Study 2 is to test the efficacy of a novel personalised nutrition intervention with tailored behavioural support compared to a control personalised nutrition intervention (without tailored behavioural support) for improving adherence to sustainable and healthy diets in university students. Study 2 will incorporate key insights and learnings from Study 1 (including the process evaluation from Study 1). This study will form a separate registration.

   PLAN'EAT LL Citizen Panel Study 3: Co-creating food environment interventions to promote sustainable and healthy diets in the university setting.

   The aim of Study 3 is to co-create interventions in UCD food environments with our stakeholders to promote sustainable and healthy diets on campus. This study will form a separate registration.
2. Stakeholder participants

This UCD PLAN'EAT LL study will recruit n=20 stakeholders. Upon successful completion of informed consent, stakeholders will be regularly informally consulted at several time points throughout the duration of the LL study regarding their feedback and input on LL studies.

Process Evaluation:

At the end of the overarching LL study, stakeholders will be invited to participate in one-to-one semi-structured interviews to explore topics encompassing, for example, their study experience, study acceptability, factors affecting participation rates (e.g., barriers and enablers), study engagement, and suggestions for improvement. However, in line with the LL methodology, the evaluation details will be more fully articulated and confirmed as the LL study progresses.

Eligibility criteria: Student participants:

Inclusion Criteria:

* Be a UCD student (aged 18-30 years) attending Belfield Campus.
* Be a healthy adult between the age of 18-30 years old, and in good general health.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Do not attend UCD Belfield Campus.
* Are under 18 years of age or over 30 years of age.
* Have a diagnosis of an acute or chronic medical condition that could interfere with the outcomes of the study. Such diagnoses include (but are not limited to) cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, cancers (within the last 5 years), etc.

Stakeholder participants:

Inclusion Criteria:

- Stakeholder on or connected to UCD Campus.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Living Lab: Legume intake (grams per day)
timeFrame: 32 months
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Living Lab: Plant-based food intake (grams per day)
timeFrame: 32 months
measure: Living Lab: Fruit intake (grams per day)
timeFrame: 32 months
measure: Living Lab: Vegetable intake (grams per day)
timeFrame: 32 months
measure: Living Lab: Meat intake (grams per day)
timeFrame: 32 months
measure: Living Lab: High fat, sugar, salt (HFSS) food intake (grams per day)
timeFrame: 32 months
Other outcomes:
measure: Living Lab: Diet-related greenhouse gas emissions reported as kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalents per day
timeFrame: 32 months
measure: Living Lab: Self-reported factors influencing sustainable and healthy diet consumption
timeFrame: 32 months
measure: Living Lab: Self-reported factors influencing sustainable and healthy dietary behaviours: Self-reported behavioural automaticity index
timeFrame: 32 months
measure: Living Lab: Self-reported factors influencing sustainable and healthy dietary behaviours: Self-regulation of eating behaviour
timeFrame: 32 months
measure: Living Lab: Self-reported factors influencing sustainable and healthy dietary behaviours: Self-efficacy
timeFrame: 32 months
measure: Living Lab: Self-reported factors influencing sustainable and healthy dietary behaviours: Food neophobia
timeFrame: 32 months
measure: Living Lab: Self-reported factors influencing sustainable and healthy dietary behaviours: Nutritional knowledge
timeFrame: 32 months
measure: Living Lab: Self-reported factors influencing sustainable and healthy dietary behaviours: Sustainable food literacy
timeFrame: 32 months
measure: Living Lab: Process Evaluation
timeFrame: 32 months
measure: Living Lab Feasibility: Retention Rates
timeFrame: 32 months
measure: Living Lab Feasibility: Data Completion Rates
timeFrame: 32 months
Locations:
city: Dublin
country: Ireland
facility: University College Dublin
Study officials:
References:
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