Drivers and Barriers for Adopting Healthy and Sustainable Food Swaps in Young

NCT06714656 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: FOOD-SWAPS
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 30
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Food represents one of the greatest health and environmental challenges of the 21st century. Consuming less of the most environmentally damaging foods, such as meat, is considered an effective method to reduce food-related greenhouse gas emissions. The aim of these N-of-1 FOOD SWAP intervention studies is to investigate whether and which physiological, psychological and environmental factors, at an individual level, modify the adoption and adherence of food swaps aiming to reduce the intake of red meat and replace this with fish or plant-based foods, in young adults. The series of N-of-1 studies will also assess whether an 8-week food swap intervention will improve general health markers such as blood pressure, plasma lipids and glucose, and blood/urinary metabotype. This approach will provide insight into physiological, behavioural and environmental factors that can help explain individual fluctuations in adherence and physiological outcomes common in nutrition studies. In the future, this should enable us to tailor how we deliver effective individualised interventions and better consider and control for factors affecting adherence and response to dietary interventions.

Conditions

Sustainable Food Consumption; Diet Modification

Keywords

diet; sustainable food choices; food swaps; N of 1 study

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Grams of red meat consumption

  During the first eight weeks (period A1), participants will be instructed to follow their usual diet. From week 9 (period B), participants will start the intervention, where they will receive the food swaps identified and agreed by them during a food swap interview. During the final eight weeks (period A2), participants will cease intervention products. The grams of red meat will be monitored before, during and after the intervention.

  6 months

Secondary Outcomes (6)

• Weight

  6 months

• Nutiritional status

  6 months

• Blood pressure

  6 months

• Total cholesterol

  6 months

• Fasting blood glucose

  6 months

Study Arms (1)

N of 1 intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

Personalised food swaps and dietary advice on how to incorporate these swaps into the diet

Other: Food Swap

Interventions

Food Swap OTHER

Personalised food swaps and dietary advice on how to incorporate these swaps into their usual diet

N of 1 intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 30 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• men and women
• aged 18-30 years,
• having a high baseline consumption of red meat (More than 70 grams per day or 280 grams per 4 days)
• who are willing to make their diet healthier and more sustainable but do not know how or are facing barriers

You may not qualify if:

• Having a lower red meat consumption (less than 70 grams per day or 240 grams per 4 days)
• being vegetarian or vegan
• having a clinical diagnosis of hypertension or high cholesterol, having unstable or untreated thyroid disorder
• taking blood pressure and/or cholesterol-lowering medications (e.g. beta blockers or statins)
• having food allergies, being on a weight loss diet or having lost \>5kg in the last 6 months
• having a history of an eating disorder.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Aberdeen: lead

Study Sites (1)

The Rowett Institute, University of Aberdeen

Aberdeen, AB25 2ZD, United Kingdom

RECRUITING

Study Officials

• Baukje de Roos, Professor

  UoA

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Magaly Aceves-Martins, PhD

CONTACT

+441224438719; magaly.aceves@abdn.ac.uk

Baukje de Roos, Professor

CONTACT

+441224438636; b.deroos@abdn.ac.uk

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Masking Details: This will have an N of 1 design and will not be randomised.
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: The study will be conducted as a 24-week (\~ 6 months) interventional N-of-1 study with an A1-B-A2 design (8 weeks per study arm). The first A-period represents an observational phase, the B-period represents an intervention phase with personalised food swaps and dietary advice on how to incorporate these swaps into the diet, and the second A-period represents an observational/follow-up period.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 22, 2024
• First Posted: December 3, 2024
• Study Start: December 9, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 30, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 30, 2027
• Last Updated: May 1, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

GB (1)