Offering Free Fruits and Vegetables to Men at Risk of Poverty

University of Hohenheim

Status: Completed

Conditions: Dietary Habits

Treatments: Behavioral: Intervention Group

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02787564

free F+V

Details and patient eligibility

About

The study aims to investigate whether the provision of free fresh fruits and vegetables to middle-aged men at risk of poverty increases their fruit and vegetable intake over a period of 4 weeks.

Full description

A total of 100 men (> 30 years, living alone) with a low SES will be randomly assigned to a control or intervention group while controlling for food bank use. The intervention group will receive free fresh fruits and vegetables consisting of 2 daily portions of their favorite variety over a period of 4 weeks which will be provided to them once per week.

All participants will be asked to fill out a demographic questionnaire as well as a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), a questionnaire on variety of fruits and vegetables consumed and a 24-h-food-recall questionnaire. All questionnaires will be administered by trained interviewers. During the study period, the 24h-food recall questionnaire will be administered four more times; two times before the 4-week intervention period and two times after the intervention period. After the 4-week intervention period, interviewers will administered the FFQ and the questionnaire on variety.

Participants assigned to the control group will receive a fruit and vegetable basket after 4 weeks after baseline.

All participants will receive gift certificates for local supermarkets in the amount of 35,00 €.

Enrollment: 61 patients

Sex: Male

Ages: 30 to 80 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• income below 980 € per month
• > 30 years of age
• living alone
• without regular food delivery service (except for e.g. meals on wheels once a day)
• born in Germany
• speaks German

Exclusion criteria

• lives in assisted living accommodations

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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61 participants in 2 patient groups

Free Fruit and Vegetables

Experimental group

Description:

After baseline assessment of food intake patterns, the intervention will consist of providing free fruits and vegetables of their choice for a period of four weeks which will be provided fresh each week. At baseline and at the end of the 4-week period, a FFQ, two 24h-recalls and a questionnaire on consumed fruit and vegetable variety will be administered.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Intervention Group

Control Goup

No Intervention group

Description:

At baseline and at the end of the 4-week period, a FFQ, four 24h-recalls and a questionnaire on consumed fruit and vegetable variety will be administered. At the end of the intervention period they receive once a basket of free fruits and vegetables.