Non-Diet Nutrition Education and Its Effects on Eating Behavior, Body Image, and Well-Being in Adult Women

NCT07112131 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: KA23/243
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 52
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate whether a non-diet nutrition education program can improve eating behaviors, body image, and well-being in normal-BMI women aged 19-35 years. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Does participation in an 8-week non-diet nutrition education program improve eating behavior, body image, and well-being over time in the intervention group compared to the control group?
• Is there a significant difference between the intervention and control groups in eating behavior, body image, and well-being after the intervention? Researchers will compare an intervention group receiving an 8-week non-diet nutrition education with a control group receiving no intervention, to see if the program leads to improvements in psychological and behavioral outcomes without focusing on weight loss. Participants will:
• Complete pre- and post-intervention assessments, including validated questionnaires on eating behavior (DEBQ, FCQ, IES-2), body image (BAS, Stunkard Figure Rating Scale), and psychological well-being (WHO-5, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale), as well as a 3-day food diary.
• Be randomly assigned to either the intervention group (8-week online non-diet nutrition education sessions) or the control group (no intervention).
• Engage in 8 weekly, 60-minute sessions focused on intuitive eating, body acceptance, and health-promoting nutrition.

Conditions

Eating Behaviors; Body Image; Well-Being, Psychological; Young Adult Females

Keywords

Non-diet approach; Intuitive eating; Body acceptance; Body image; Eating behavior; Psychological well-being; Young adult women; Nutrition education; Randomized controlled trial

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (7)

• Eating Behavior

  Assessed using the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ): 33 items with three subscales (Restrained Eating, Emotional Eating, External Eating), rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = never, 5 = very often). Higher subscale scores indicate greater tendency toward that eating behavior.

  Baseline and 8 weeks after intervention

• Food Choice Motivation

  Assessed using the Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ): 36 items, 9 subscales (Health, Mood, Convenience, Sensory Appeal, Natural Content, Price, Weight Control, Familiarity, Ethical Concern), rated on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = not at all important, 4 = very important). Higher scores indicate greater importance assigned to that factor in food choice.

  Baseline and 8 weeks after intervention

• Intuitive Eating

  Assessed using the Intuitive Eating Scale-2 (IES-2): 23 items, 4 subscales (Unconditional Permission to Eat, Eating for Physical Rather Than Emotional Reasons, Reliance on Hunger and Satiety Cues, Body-Food Choice Congruence), rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). Higher scores reflect more intuitive eating.

  Baseline and 8 weeks after intervention

• Body Appreciation

  Assessed using the Body Appreciation Scale (BAS): 9 items, no subscales, rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = never, 5 = always). Higher scores indicate greater body appreciation.

  Baseline and 8 weeks after intervention

• Body Dissatisfaction

  Assessed using the Stunkard Figure Rating Scale: visual selection of perceived vs. ideal body silhouette (1-9 scale). Body dissatisfaction is calculated as the difference between the actual and ideal figure selections.

  Baseline and 8 weeks after intervention

• Well-Being

  Assessed using the WHO-5 Well-Being Index: 5 items, no subscales, scored 0-5 (0 = at no time, 5 = all the time); raw scores are converted to a 0-100 scale. Higher scores indicate better well-being.

  Baseline and 8 weeks after intervention

• Self-Esteem

  Assessed using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES): 10 items, no subscales, rated on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 4 = strongly agree). Higher scores reflect greater self-esteem.

  Baseline and 8 weeks after intervention

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Dietary Intake

  Baseline and 8 weeks after intervention

Study Arms (2)

Intervention Group

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this group will receive an 8-week online non-diet nutrition education program based on intuitive eating and body acceptance principles.

Behavioral: Non-Diet Nutrition Education Program

Control Group

NO INTERVENTION

Participants in this group will receive no intervention during the 8-week study period but will complete the same pre- and post-assessments as the intervention group.

Interventions

Non-Diet Nutrition Education Program BEHAVIORAL

The intervention is an 8-week online nutrition education program based on non-diet approaches, including intuitive eating, rejecting diet mentality, honoring hunger, body acceptance, and well-being. Each weekly session is 60 minutes long and involves interactive discussions and home practices.

Intervention Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 19 Years - 35 Years
• Sex: female
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Female,
• Aged between 19-35 years,
• Body Mass Index (BMI) between 18.5-24.9,

You may not qualify if:

• Pregnant or breastfeeding,
• Diagnosed eating disorder or other psychiatric condition,
• Currently enrolled in a weight loss program,
• Following a restrictive diet due to medical conditions.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Tuğba TÜRKCAN: lead

Study Sites (1)

Istanbul Gelisim University

Istanbul, Turkey (Türkiye)

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Feeding Behavior; Psychological Well-Being

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior, Animal; Behavior; Personal Satisfaction

Central Study Contacts

Tuğba Türkcan

CONTACT

+90 507 528 9293; turkcantugba@gmail.com

Beril Köse

CONTACT

berilyilmaz@baskent.edu.tr

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Masking Details: Participants are blind to the group assignment and the primary aim of the study. The study is designed as a single-blind randomized controlled trial.
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Model Details: Participants will be randomly assigned to either an intervention group receiving an 8-week online non-diet nutrition education program or a control group receiving no intervention.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 16, 2025
• First Posted: August 8, 2025
• Study Start: July 21, 2025
• Primary Completion: September 1, 2025
• Study Completion: October 1, 2025
• Last Updated: August 8, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-08

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF, ANALYTIC CODE
• Time Frame: De-identified individual participant data (IPD) and supporting information will be available starting 6 months after publication of the main study results and will remain available for up to 3 years upon request.
• Access Criteria: IPD and supporting documents will be made available to qualified researchers with a valid academic affiliation. Access will be granted upon submission of a research proposal and a data use agreement. Requests should be directed to the principal investigator via institutional email.

Locations

TU (1)