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Motivating Value of Vegetables Study

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Overweight
Obesity
Interventions
Other: Usual Vegetable Intake
Other: Recommended Vegetable Intake
Registration Number
NCT02585102
Lead Sponsor
USDA Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center
Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to see if perceived barriers to vegetable consumption can be overcome by making it easier for people eat more vegetables and to see if the effects last over time.

Detailed Description

High vegetable consumption is associated with maintenance of a healthy body weight. Americans do not eat vegetables in the amounts recommended by the dietary guidelines and interventions to increase intake have had limited results. Reported barriers to consumption include not knowing how to prepare them and being unused to eating them.To get people to eat vegetables, they have to be motivated to do so. Repeated consumption of snack foods increases overweight and obese individuals' motivation to eat snack foods. The investigators hypothesize that by increasing people's consumption of vegetables by making them easy to eat will increase the motivation value of vegetables. For this study the investigators propose to provide minimally-processed (cleaned, packaged) vegetables to overweight and obese individuals. The motivating value of vegetables will be measured using a computer task where people play a game to earn points towards portions of a vegetable or a neutral food (crackers). The investigators will determine potential moderators of the increase in the motivating value of vegetables such as genetics (single nucleotide polymorphisms) that are associated with the motivating value of food and whether people substitute eating vegetables for other foods. The investigators will also determine changes in adiposity as a result of vegetable consumption. Lastly, the investigators will determine if repeated consumption increases psychosocial predictors of vegetable intake, such as self-efficacy of eating vegetables.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
102
Inclusion Criteria
  • BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2
  • Currently eating ≤ 1 cup of vegetables (apart from fried potatoes) per day
  • Willing to consent to study conditions
Exclusion Criteria
  • BMI < 25 kg/m2
  • Age < 18 years or > 65 years
  • Currently dieting or following specific diet
  • Allergies or unwillingness to consume study foods
  • Gastrointestinal disorder or disease
  • Pregnant, lactating, or planning pregnancy
  • Current smoker or tobacco user
  • High dietary restraint or certain eating patterns
  • Inability to give consent
  • Medications that would influence appetite, weight gain, or weight loss
  • Exclusionary medications: Didrex, Tenuate, Belviq, Contrave, Phendimetrazine, Adipex-P, Suprenza, Xenical, Qsymia, Saxenda

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Usual VegetablesUsual Vegetable IntakeDiet consisting of usual vegetable intake amounts for 8 weeks.
Recommended VegetablesRecommended Vegetable IntakeDiet provided consisting of recommended vegetable intake per Dietary Guidelines for Americans amounts for 8 weeks.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in relative reinforcing value (RRV) of vegetables as assessed by indicator0, 4, 8, 12, 16 weeks

RRV of vegetables will be assessed by evaluating the number of responses (mouse button presses) a participant is willing to complete to gain access to a vegetable or an alternative snack food.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in happiness in response to eating vegetables0, 8 weeks

Happiness will be assessed using a validated questionnaire, the "4-item Subjective Happiness Scale," a 7 point Likert scale with 1=not a very happy person to 7=a very happy person, before and after consuming Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommended amounts of vegetables.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

USDA Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center

🇺🇸

Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States

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