The Effect of an Application-based Health Intervention (FoodCoach) on Food Purchases in Switzerland: Randomized Controlled Trial
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Completed
- Sponsor
- Enrollment
- 60
- Locations
- 2
- Primary Endpoint
- Body mass index change
Study Overview
Brief Summary
The FoodCoach study is a 9-week randomized controlled trial from the University of St.Gallen and the University Hospital of Bern, supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation #188402 and by Sanitas Management AG. Sanitas Management AG supports the recruiting of study participants without interfering with the study content.
FoodCoach aims to investigate the effectiveness of improving people's food shopping healthiness by providing automated food shopping recommendations. The results of the study could possibly help improve the health status of the Swiss population and beyond in a low-cost and automated manner.
The investigators collect participant grocery data via the loyalty card programs "Migros Cumulus" and "Coop Supercard" after obtaining participants' informed consent. From this data, the investigators generate automated recommendations that are based on the Nutri-Score framework and expertise of dieticians at the University Hospital of Bern. After sign-up, participants are randomized into a treatment and a control group. The treatment group receives automated recommendations via the FoodCoach Web Application, while the control group only receives a report about their food shopping by email after the intervention phase. Both groups need to finish the same onboarding survey where the investigators collect basic demographic information. After the intervention, the treatment group will receive a post-study survey containing two parts via email. Part 1 includes questions about the ease of use, interface and satisfaction and usefulness of the FoodCoach app. Part 2 includes questions about the participants' weight and height, the motivation to shop healthily and sustainably. The control group will receive a post-study survey which only contains part 2 as described before via email.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel
- Primary Purpose
- Prevention
- Masking
- None
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 18 Years to — (Adult, Older Adult)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- •Participants need to be at least 18 years old by the time they join the study.
- •Participants need to participate in at least one of the two loyalty card programmes, i.e., Migros Cumulus and/or Coop Supercard.
- •Participants need to be German- and/or English-speaking, as the FoodCoach application is in German and English.
Exclusion Criteria
- •Younger than 18 years old by the time the participants join the study.
- •Do not participate in at least one of the two loyalty card programmes, i.e., Migros Cumulus and/or Coop Supercard.
- •Not German- and/or English-speaking, so that the participants cannot understand the content of the app.
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Body mass index change
Time Frame: Baseline, 9 weeks
Survey data. Note that the post-study survey is "voluntary" because the investigators cannot force participants to finish it.
Food purchase behavior - processed food purchase change
Time Frame: Baseline, 9 weeks
Loyalty card data
Food purchase behavior - vegetable purchase change
Time Frame: Baseline, 9 weeks
Loyalty card data
Food purchase behavior - oils, fats, sauces, nuts and seeds purchase change
Time Frame: Baseline, 9 weeks
Loyalty card data
Food purchase behavior - overall food shopping healthiness change
Time Frame: Baseline, 9 weeks
The overall food shopping healthiness as indicated by Food Standards Agency Nutrient Profiling System Dietary Index
Food purchase behavior - fruit purchase change
Time Frame: Baseline, 9 weeks
Loyalty card data
Food purchase behavior - protein food purchase change
Time Frame: Baseline, 9 weeks
Loyalty card data
Food purchase behavior - beverage purchase change
Time Frame: Baseline, 9 weeks
Loyalty card data
Food purchase behavior - grains, potatoes and legumes purchase change
Time Frame: Baseline, 9 weeks
Loyalty card data
Secondary Outcomes
- Food purchase behavior - energy purchase change(Baseline, 9weeks)
- Food purchase behavior - protein purchase change(Baseline, 9weeks)
- Food purchase behavior - sugar purchase change(Baseline, 9weeks)
- Food purchase behavior - saturated fatty acids purchase change(Baseline, 9weeks)
- Food purchase behavior - sodium purchase change(Baseline, 9weeks)
- Food purchase behavior - fiber purchase change(Baseline, 9weeks)
Investigators
Wu Jing
PhD Candidate and Project Leader
University of St.Gallen