Examining the Impact of a Mobile Nutrition Education App for Child Nutrition Education in Canada
Efficacy of a Digital School-Based Nutrition Education Intervention to Improve Children's Healthy Eating Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviours
1 other identifier
interventional
616
1 country
1
Brief Summary
This trial will test the hypothesis that a digital curriculum-based nutrition education intervention using the Foodbot Factory serious game (i.e., a game designed for learning) leads to greater student engagement and learning about nutrition, compared to conventional nutrition education (e.g., worksheets), among students in Grades 4 and 5 in Ontario, Canada. This hypothesis is based on existing research suggesting that digital serious games, when well-integrated into the classroom setting, promote greater student engagement, learning and knowledge retention.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable
Started Oct 2023
Typical duration for not_applicable
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
First Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
July 13, 2023
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
August 7, 2023
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
October 25, 2023
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
March 28, 2025
CompletedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
July 31, 2025
CompletedAugust 6, 2025
August 1, 2025
1.4 years
July 13, 2023
August 1, 2025
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (3)
Overall nutrition knowledge
Change in knowledge of healthy food choices based on Canada's Food Guide from baseline to immediately post-intervention as assessed by the Nutrition Attitudes and Knowledge Questionnaire. The minimum score is 0 and the maximum score is 20 with higher scores indicating higher knowledge.
Measured at baseline and immediately post-intervention (Day 5).
Overall nutrition knowledge
Change in knowledge of healthy food choices based on Canada's Food Guide from baseline to immediately post-intervention as assessed by the Nutrition Attitudes and Knowledge Questionnaire. The minimum score is 0 and the maximum score is 20 with higher scores indicating higher knowledge.
Measured at baseline and 4 weeks post-intervention.
Overall nutrition knowledge
Change in knowledge of healthy food choices based on Canada's Food Guide from baseline to immediately post-intervention as assessed by the Nutrition Attitudes and Knowledge Questionnaire. The minimum score is 0 and the maximum score is 20 with higher scores indicating higher knowledge.
Measured at baseline and 3 months post-intervention.
Secondary Outcomes (22)
Drinks knowledge
Measured at baseline and immediately post-intervention (Day 5).
Drinks knowledge
Measured at baseline and 4 weeks post-intervention.
Drinks knowledge
Measured at baseline and 3 months post-intervention.
Whole grain foods knowledge
Measured at baseline and immediately post-intervention (Day 5).
Whole grain foods knowledge
Measured at baseline and 4 weeks post-intervention.
- +17 more secondary outcomes
Study Arms (2)
Experimental (Foodbot Factory) Group
EXPERIMENTALControl Group
ACTIVE COMPARATORInterventions
Classrooms will receive nutrition education lessons for 35-40 minutes for 5 consecutive days. As part of each lesson, students will play the "Foodbot Factory" nutrition education serious game for 10-15 minutes. The Foodbot Factory serious game and lessons are based on Ontario curriculum requirements and aligned Canada's Food Guide.
Classrooms will receive nutrition education lessons for 35-40 minutes for 5 consecutive days. As part of each lesson, students will use conventional learning activities, such as worksheets, sourced from an online teaching resource repository. The lessons are based on Ontario curriculum requirements and aligned Canada's Food Guide.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Grade 4 or 4/5 classroom
- Classroom is located in a participating school board in Ontario
You may not qualify if:
- Classroom has already covered the "Healthy Eating" component of the Ontario Physical Health Education curriculum
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (1)
University of Ontario Institute of Technology
Oshawa, Ontario, L1G0C5, Canada
Related Publications (4)
Brown JM, Savaglio R, Watson G, Kaplansky A, LeSage A, Hughes J, Kapralos B, Arcand J. Optimizing Child Nutrition Education With the Foodbot Factory Mobile Health App: Formative Evaluation and Analysis. JMIR Form Res. 2020 Apr 17;4(4):e15534. doi: 10.2196/15534.
PMID: 32301743BACKGROUNDFroome HM, Townson C, Rhodes S, Franco-Arellano B, LeSage A, Savaglio R, Brown JM, Hughes J, Kapralos B, Arcand J. The Effectiveness of the Foodbot Factory Mobile Serious Game on Increasing Nutrition Knowledge in Children. Nutrients. 2020 Nov 6;12(11):3413. doi: 10.3390/nu12113413.
PMID: 33172094BACKGROUNDFranco-Arellano B, Brown JM, Froome HM, LeSage A, Arcand J. Development and pilot testing of the Nutrition Attitudes and Knowledge Questionnaire to measure changes of child nutrition knowledge related to the Canada's Food Guide. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2021 Dec;46(12):1495-1501. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2021-0170. Epub 2021 Jul 21.
PMID: 34289315BACKGROUNDBrown JM, Tahir S, Franco-Arellano B, LeSage A, Hughes J, Kapralos B, Lou W, Vogel E, Farkouh M, Tugault-Lafleur C, Arcand J. Efficacy of the Foodbot Factory digital curriculum-based nutrition education intervention in improving children's nutrition knowledge, attitudes and behaviours in elementary school classrooms: protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open. 2025 Jan 28;15(1):e092426. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-092426.
PMID: 39880422DERIVED
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
JoAnne Arcand, PhD, RD
University of Ontario Institute of Technology
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- SINGLE
- Who Masked
- OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
- Purpose
- PREVENTION
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
- PI Title
- Associate Professor
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
July 13, 2023
First Posted
August 7, 2023
Study Start
October 25, 2023
Primary Completion
March 28, 2025
Study Completion
July 31, 2025
Last Updated
August 6, 2025
Record last verified: 2025-08
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will share
- Shared Documents
- STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP
- Time Frame
- When the study is complete, determined by the date on which the findings are published, electronic files will be stored for 5 years per guidelines from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Data can be made available following study completion, up until its disposal.
- Access Criteria
- Data will be made available to researchers upon reasonable request.
The research team aims to publish the study findings in a peer-reviewed journal and at academic conferences. The investigators will make an anonymized copy of the data available in an online repository.