The Menus of Change Health and Heart Benefits for University Students

NCT ID: NCT05863078

Last Updated: 2024-11-22

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Total Enrollment: 100 participants
• Study Classification: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2025-01-01
• Study Completion Date: 2026-12-31

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.

Conditions

Healthy Lifestyle

Study Design

• Observational Model Type: COHORT
• Study Time Perspective: CROSS_SECTIONAL

Study Groups

Group following the Menus of Change diet

No interventions assigned to this group

Group not following the menus of Change diet

No interventions assigned to this group

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Adults
• Home students living in university halls
• Undergraduates
• Can understand participant information sheet and willing to comply with the study design

Exclusion Criteria

• International students
• postgraduates
• living outside the university halls
• participating in other studies

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 25 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

University of Reading

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Charlotte E Mills

Principle Investigator

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Central Contacts

Charlotte Mills, PhD

Role: CONTACT

c.e.mills@reading.ac.uk

01183787108 ext. 7108

Youmna Hussein, PharmD, MSc

Role: CONTACT

youmna.hussein@reading.ac.uk

Other Identifiers

TBC

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id