Food Vouchers and Educational Intervention on Promoting Healthy Eating in Vulnerable Groups.

University of Zaragoza

Status: Completed

Conditions: Economic Problems

Treatments: Other: Food vouchers and education

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05539222

PI20/541

Details and patient eligibility

About

Cost has been reported as the main barrier to healthy eating in vulnerable groups. We aimed to evaluate the effect of food vouchers with a nutrition education intervention on diet quality (using NOVA classification) and health. This pilot study has a randomized pre-and post-test experimental design. We included 66 vulnerable users from the Red Cross of Zaragoza (Spain). Intervention and control group individuals received 120 eu-ros/month during 3 months in food vouchers to be spent in supermarkets (60 eu-ros/month if under 12y) plus a 10-week nutrition education for the intervention group. Family food purchases were assessed using electronically recorded supermarket-obtained transactions. We found the percentage of healthy food was higher in the in-tervention group than in the control group. Once the nutrition education was over, dif-ferences between groups dissipated. Health parameters improved in the intervention group, particularly weight-status, lipid, and liver enzymes. Control participants gained weight, although lipid and liver enzymes improved. Blood pressure and HbA1c did not improve in either the intervention or the control group. In conclusion, providing unrestricted food vouchers to vulnerable groups to increase healthy food consumption and reduce the intake of ultra-processed food appears to be insufficient and should be accompanied by medium-long term education.

Enrollment: 66 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 3 to 80 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria: The inclusion criteria established were children and adults between 3 and 80 years of age with at least one adult per family unit that could speak and understand Spanish, French, or English.

Exclusion Criteria: Adults with severe illness or cognitive impairment were excluded from the study.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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66 participants in 2 patient groups

Food voucher plus health and nutritional education

Active Comparator group

Description:

Intervention and control group individuals received 120 euros/month during 3 months in food vouchers to be spent in supermarkets (60 euros/month if under 12y) plus a 10-week nutrition education for the intervention group.

Treatment:

Other: Food vouchers and education

Food voucher

No Intervention group

Description:

Intervention and control group individuals received 120 euros/month during 3 months in food vouchers to be spent in supermarkets (60 euros/month if under 12y) plus a 10-week nutrition education for the intervention group.