The Menus of Change Health and Heart Benefits for University Students (The MOCHAHS Trial): a Cross-sectional Study

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.