Evaluating Household Food Behavior With a Smartphone App

NCT03309306 | Completed Results

• 1 other identifier: PBRC 2017-042
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 44
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to test the use of a smartphone app as a way to measure food waste. Investigators propose to improve the accuracy and convenience of household food waste measurement so that consumer food waste program evaluations yield more power, less bias, less measurement error, and greater representation of targeted populations.

Conditions

Food Habits

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Phase 1: Food Waste Error

  Participant estimations of food waste using the following three experimental methods as compared to the criterion value of weighed waste collected by study staff: 1) the FoodImage App (FoodImage app estimates minus the criterion value of lab personnel measured weighed food waste), 2) pen and paper diary with visual estimation of food amounts (pen and paper estimates minus the criterion value), and 3) pen and paper diary with a scale (pen and paper dairy accompanied by a scale minus directly weighed foods by lab personnel). All food values are in grams. The error values noted here represent less accurate estimates the further away they are from zero, either in the positive or negative direction. There are no min and max values to error measures.

  Visit 1

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Phase 2: Weight of All Household Waste

  Baseline to Day 14

Study Arms (3)

Phase 1: Lab Testing (Visit 1, Day 0)

NO INTERVENTION

In a laboratory kitchen, participants will use the following 3 methods to record and measure food waste during simulated shopping trip and kitchen clean-outs: the FoodImage App, Pen-and-paper Records, and Pen-and-paper records with a scale. Measurements will be collected by participants with all three methods, while lab personnel directly weigh foods to provide the criterion value.

Phase 2: RCT Stress Management

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants will use the FoodImage app to capture data on food purchases, food waste that occurs during food preparation, food waste that is present after eating, and food waste from food purges in free-living conditions. Participants will capture baseline data for 4-7 days. After a 1-week break, participants will use the app to record food waste for approximately 4-7 days over the subsequent week. They will also receive information on stress management

Other: Natural Environment/Stress Management

Phase 2: RCT Food Waste Reduction

EXPERIMENTAL

Phase 2 will occur in participants' natural environment (free-living conditions). Participants will use the FoodImage app to capture data on food purchases, food waste that occurs during food preparation, food waste that is present after eating, and food waste from food purges. Participants will use the app to record food waste for approximately 4-7 days over the subsequent week. They will also be provided with the following: 1. Feedback on the amount of food waste their household created during the first week, 2. A goal to reduce the next week's food waste by 20% or more, and 3. Tips on how to reduce household food waste adapted from current consumer campaigns

Behavioral: Natural Environment/Reduce Food Waste

Interventions

Natural Environment/Stress Management OTHER

Participants will use the FoodImage app to capture data on food purchases, food waste that occurs during food preparation, food waste that is present after eating, and food waste from food purges in free-living conditions. Participants will capture baseline data for 4-7 days. After a 1-week break, participants will use the app to record food waste for approximately 4-7 days over the subsequent week. They will also receive information on stress management

Phase 2: RCT Stress Management

Natural Environment/Reduce Food Waste BEHAVIORAL

Participants will use the FoodImage app to capture data on food purchases, food waste that occurs during food preparation, food waste that is present after eating, and food waste from food purges in free-living conditions. Participants will use the app to record food waste for approximately 4-7 days over the subsequent week. They will also be provided with the following: 1. Feedback on the amount of food waste their household created during the first week, 2. A goal to reduce the next week's food waste by 20% or more, and 3. Tips on how to reduce household food waste adapted from current consumer campaigns

Phase 2: RCT Food Waste Reduction

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 65 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• age 18-65 years
• body mass index 18.5 - 50 kg/m2, based on self-reported height and weight
• Shops for groceries
• Conducts some of the food shopping and food preparation for their household
• Be willing to do food shopping for the study (if necessary)
• Have an iPhone and an operable Apple ID, password, and email address and is willing to use these to collect data during the study, acknowledging that data usage, and associated charges, are a result of study participation
• Be willing to complete all study procedures corresponding to their randomization group

You may not qualify if:

• Persons who are severely immune compromised
• Persons who are pregnant, as assessed by self-report
• Pennington employee

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Pennington Biomedical Research Center: lead
• Ohio State University: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Pennington Biomedical Research Center

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70808, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Roe BE, Qi D, Beyl RA, Neubig KE, Martin CK, Apolzan JW. The Validity, Time Burden, and User Satisfaction of the FoodImage Smartphone App for Food Waste Measurement Versus Diaries: A Randomized Crossover Trial. Resour Conserv Recycl. 2020 Sep;160:104858. doi: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.104858. Epub 2020 May 21.

  PMID: 32773964 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Feeding Behavior

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior, Animal; Behavior

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Brian Roe
• Organization: Department of Agricultural, Environmental & Development Economics, Ohio State University

roe.30@osu.edu

614-688-5777

Study Officials

• Corby K Martin, Ph.D.

  Pennington Biomedical Research Center

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: No
• Restrictive Agreement: No

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Model Details: A subset of subjects will complete Phase I, which is the lab-based portion of the study, prior to the RCT.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 3, 2017
• First Posted: October 13, 2017
• Study Start: April 26, 2018
• Primary Completion: September 7, 2018
• Study Completion: March 31, 2020
• Last Updated: January 24, 2025
• Results First Posted: January 24, 2025

Record last verified: 2024-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)