The Menus of Change Health and Heart Benefits for University Students
- Conditions
- Healthy Lifestyle
- Registration Number
- NCT05863078
- Lead Sponsor
- University of Reading
- Brief Summary
The goal of this cross-sectional study is to investigate the health benefits of the Menus of Change in undergraduate university students, by comparing 2 groups: Students eating in the Menus of change catered halls, versus students eating outside the Menus of change meal plan. The main question it aims to answer is:
What are the effects of the menus of change on other vascular outcomes, namely blood pressure? What are the effects of the menus of change on other health markers?
- Detailed Description
The Menus of Change (MoC) is an example of behaviour change that was created by The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. This initiative is based on a set of around 24 core principles, mainly promoting and serving 'healthy, sustainable, and delicious' food in restaurants and foodservice operations. The University of Reading has successfully implemented the MoC across the campus and in students' accommodations. However, MoC is not implemented across all campus halls.
To date, most of the studies performed in relation to the MoC had explored techniques to encourage students towards healthier, more sustainable diets. Very little research focuses on the associated health outcomes and hence the impact on health of the eating pattern laid out in the MoC principles.
Therefore, this project aims to investigate the health impact of the menu of change on university students, by comparing 2 groups: students eating in MoC catered halls, following the meal plan provided by the university food services, versus students who do not follow the menus of change meal plan. The primary aim will be to investigate the effect of the MoC on vascular outcomes, namely arterial stiffness, a particularly important tool in younger adults with low-moderate cardiovascular disease risk.
Secondary aims will be to investigate other vascular outcomes, namely blood pressure changes, as well as looking at other health markers, such as full blood count, lipid profile, sugar levels, liver and kidney function, and CVD related inflammatory markers. In addition, the study aims to look at the impact of the MoC on stress and anxiety levels and the differences in students' attainment between groups.
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- NOT_YET_RECRUITING
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 100
- Adults
- Home students living in university halls
- Undergraduates
- Can understand participant information sheet and willing to comply with the study design
- International students
- postgraduates
- living outside the university halls
- participating in other studies
Study & Design
- Study Type
- OBSERVATIONAL
- Study Design
- Not specified
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Arterial stiffness up to 2 weeks after completing a 3-day food diary Arterial stiffness will be measured using Mobil-O-Graph to assess the cardiovascular risk in participants
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Kidney profile up to 2 weeks after completing a 3-day food diary kidney profile levels to be compared between both groups
Glucose levels up to 2 weeks after completing a 3-day food diary by comparing levels between both groups
SCFA levels up to 2 weeks after completing a 3-day food diary short chain fatty acids levels to be compared between both groups
Full blood count up to 2 weeks after completing a 3-day food diary Full blood count levels will be compared between both groups
Lipid profile up to 2 weeks after completing a 3-day food diary Lipid profile levels will be compared between both groups
liver profile up to 2 weeks after completing a 3-day food diary comparing liver profile levels between both groups
Cardiovascular disease related inflammatory biomarkers up to 2 weeks after completing a 3-day food diary Levels to be compared between both groups