NCT01574040

Brief Summary

Rationale: Lifestyle modifications, such as increasing physical exercise and reducing dietary salt and saturated fat intake contribute to prevention of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Relevant improvements can already be achieved by small adaptations in everyday life. It is unclear whether simple low-cost interventions in the working environment can promote such healthy lifestyle adaptations. Objective: To study the effect of low-cost interventions for promoting healthy lifestyle modifications. Study design: Before-and-after intervention study. The study period will be subdivided in four parts of 2 weeks each: a run-in period, a before-measurement period, an intervention-period, and an after measurement period. Study population: Staff and visitors of the University Medical Center Utrecht. Study interventions:

  • Promotion of stair climbing.
  • Promotion of a low-salt soup alternative for the 'soup of the day'.
  • Promotion of a low-fat alternative for the butter croissants.
  • Exchange of the basket positions of butter and margarine between convenient and harder to reach locations. Outcome measures:
  • Number of passages through each part of the stair cases.
  • Number of low-salt cream soup and normal clear soup cups sold in the hospital restaurant and ratio between them.
  • Number of low-fat and normal croissants sold in the hospital restaurant and the ratio between them.
  • Number of low-fat margarine servings and butter servings sold in the hospital restaurant and the ratio between them.

Trial Health

55
Monitor

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
11,000

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for not_applicable healthy

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
unknown

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Start

First participant enrolled

February 1, 2012

Completed
8 days until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

February 9, 2012

Completed
2 months until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

April 1, 2012

Completed
9 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

April 10, 2012

Completed
Last Updated

April 10, 2012

Status Verified

April 1, 2012

Enrollment Period

2 months

First QC Date

February 9, 2012

Last Update Submit

April 5, 2012

Conditions

Keywords

LifestyleLifestyle modificationBehaviorPrimary preventionHealthy staff and visitors of an Academic Hospital

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

  • Number of passages through each part of the stair cases

    Measured by wireless infrared interruption counters

    2 weeks (including weekend days)

  • Number of low-salt cream soup and normal clear soup cups sold in the hospital restaurant and ratio between them

    Assessed by the pay desk computer system administration

    2 weeks (excluding weekend days)

  • Number of low-fat and normal croissants sold in the hospital restaurant and the ratio between them

    Number of croissants sold will be registered on daily work sheets by the restaurant personnel

    2 weeks (excluding weekend days)

  • Number of low-fat margarine servings and butter servings sold in the hospital restaurant and the ratio between them

    Assessed by the pay desk computer system administration

    2 weeks (excluding weekend days)

Study Arms (1)

Staff (and visitors) of the University Medical Centre Utrecht

EXPERIMENTAL

This is a dynamic study population

Behavioral: Promotion of stair climbingBehavioral: Promotion of a low-salt soup alternative for the 'soup of the day'Behavioral: Promotion of a low-fat alternative for the butter croissantsBehavioral: Exchange of the basket positions of butter and margarine in the UMC staff restaurant between convenient and harder to reach locations

Interventions

Application of labels on all UMC elevator doors stating: " If you take the stairs, you will burn 11 times more calories."

Staff (and visitors) of the University Medical Centre Utrecht

Promotion of a low-salt soup alternative for the 'soup of the day' in the UMC staff restaurant, using a sign stating: "The cream soup contains 30% less salt and contributes to a healthy blood pressure."

Staff (and visitors) of the University Medical Centre Utrecht

Promotion of a low-fat alternative for the butter croissants in the UMC staff restaurant, using a sign stating: "This croissant contains 30% fewer saturated (unhealthy) fatty acids."

Staff (and visitors) of the University Medical Centre Utrecht

Exchange of the basket positions of butter and margarine in the UMC staff restaurant. In the usual (baseline) situation butter is positioned in the fridge and, therefore, less visible and harder to reach. Margarine is positioned on several convenient locations throughout the restaurant. During the two weeks intervention period these positions will be interchanged.

Staff (and visitors) of the University Medical Centre Utrecht

Eligibility Criteria

Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsChild (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
Dynamic population of staff and visitors of the University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands

Contact the study team to discuss eligibility requirements. They can help determine if this study is right for you.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

University Medical Center Utrecht

Utrecht, 3584 CX, Netherlands

Location

Related Publications (1)

  • Dorresteijn JA, van der Graaf Y, Zheng K, Spiering W, Visseren FL. The daily 10 kcal expenditure deficit: a before-and-after study on low-cost interventions in the work environment. BMJ Open. 2013 Jan 24;3(1):e002125. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2012-002125.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Behavior

Interventions

Margarine

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Dietary FatsFatsLipidsDairy ProductsFoodDiet, Food, and NutritionPhysiological PhenomenaFood and Beverages

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
NA
Masking
NONE
Purpose
PREVENTION
Intervention Model
SINGLE GROUP
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Professor of Vascular Medicine, Internist

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

February 9, 2012

First Posted

April 10, 2012

Study Start

February 1, 2012

Primary Completion

April 1, 2012

Last Updated

April 10, 2012

Record last verified: 2012-04

Locations