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Evaluation of a 5-a-day Fruit and Vegetable Mobile Phone Application

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Nutritional Status
Nutrition Assessment
Interventions
Behavioral: 5-a-day fruit and vegetable mobile phone application
Registration Number
NCT02779491
Lead Sponsor
Bournemouth University
Brief Summary

This is a randomized controlled trial to assess the impact of a novel fruit and vegetable mobile phone application on fruit and vegetable intakes, knowledge and attitudes.

Detailed Description

The 5-a-day fruit and vegetable (FV) message from the WHO recommends consumption of five 80g portions of different FV per day for health reasons. Recent research suggests that the details of the message are poorly understood by the population as a whole, by low consumers of FV and by those in demographic groups of traditional low FV consumption, and that this poor knowledge impacts on implementation of the message to result in low FV intakes. To aid implementation of the recommendations, investigators have developed a 5-a-day FV mobile phone application (app) prototype. The basic prototype app will provide information on the 5-a-day message, allow users to input consumption, and provides consumers with accurate knowledge of their adherence to the recommendations. This study will investigate the use and impact of the prototype app on FV intakes over a two or four week period. For significant impacts on health, sustained user engagement and use will be required. Up to 100 participants will be randomised to either receive or not receive the app, and will be asked to use the app for the following two or four weeks. FV intake will be assessed at baseline, 2 weeks, 4 weeks. Measures of app use will also be taken at these time points. Measures of FV knowledge will also be measured at these time points. Measures of FV attitudes were initially planned but not undertaken to reduce demand characteristics for participants. The investigators anticipate that changes in intakes will be mediated by changes in knowledge and attitudes.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
94
Inclusion Criteria
  • able to provide informed consent
  • speaks English, owns an android mobile telephone
  • able and willing to use phone and complete all measures
Exclusion Criteria
  • none

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Intervention for two weeks5-a-day fruit and vegetable mobile phone applicationReceipt of the mobile phone application for two weeks
Intervention for four weeks5-a-day fruit and vegetable mobile phone applicationReceipt of the mobile phone application for four weeks
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Fruit and Vegetable Intakes (Self-report, Questionnaire Assessment)Intervention end

Self-report, questionnaire assessment

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
App UsageIntervention end

Number of days on which users interacted with the app.

Fruit and Vegetable Knowledge (Questionnaire Assessment)Intervention end

FV knowledge will be assessed by the FV knowledge questionnaire published in Appleton et al. J Hum Nutr Diet, 2018;31:121-130. The questionnaire assessed four aspects of FV knowledge in relation to the UK 5-a-day recommendations. The portion sizes subscale is provided, where positive scores are given for correct responses, and negative scores for incorrect responses. Min. max scores are -27, 27. Higher scores show greater knowledge.

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