Ultra-processed Food-reducing Intervention and Continuous Glucose Monitoring
ULTRA-CGM
Effects of Ultra-processed Food Reduction Intervention on Postprandial Glucose and Glycemic Variability in Korean Young Adults: Study Protocol for the ULTRA-CGM Randomized Controlled Trial
2 other identifiers
interventional
50
1 country
1
Brief Summary
The goal of this trial is to investigate whether reduction in ultra-processed food intake through dietary counseling and education can improve postprandial glucose responses and glycemic variability compared with a usual diet in young, healthy Korean adults aged 20-30 years. The main questions it aims to answer are: \- Does reducing ultra-processed food intake, while maintaining total energy intake and usual lifestyle behaviors, improve postprandial glucose and lower glycemic variability in healthy adults without diabetes? Participants will:
- Undergo the 10-day pre-intervention monitoring period, during which each participant will wear a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device and concurrently report their daily dietary intakes (all food and beverage consumption) and other lifestyle behaviors (sleep, smoking, physical activity)
- After the 10-day pre-intervention monitoring period, participants will be randomized to either intervention or control group
- Intervention group: Participants will visit the research site to receive dietitian-led one-on-one nutrition education and personalized dietary counseling targeting reduction of ultra-processed food intake. Personalized diet counseling will be provided by study dietitian based on participant's records of dietary intakes during the 10-day pre-intervention monitoring period.
- Control group: Participants will receive dietitian-led nutrition education and personalized dietary counseling based on the national dietary guidelines.
- After the intervention, participants will undergo the 10-day post-intervention monitoring period, during which participants will wear a new CGM device for an additional 10 days and continue daily reporting of dietary intakes (all food and beverage consumptions) and lifestyle behaviors (sleep, smoking, physical activity).
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P25-P50 for not_applicable
Started Oct 2025
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
September 5, 2025
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
September 16, 2025
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
October 11, 2025
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
August 31, 2026
ExpectedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
August 31, 2026
April 17, 2026
April 1, 2026
11 months
September 5, 2025
April 13, 2026
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Change in postprandial glucose responses
The primary outcome of this study is the change in postprandial glucose responses from the baseline monitoring period to the post-intervention monitoring period. Postprandial glucose responses are assessed using CGM and quantified as the incremental area under the curve (iAUC) over 2 hours following each meal. Higher iAUC values indicate greater postprandial glucose excursions. For each meal, iAUC is calculated as the area under the curve above the baseline level over the 2-hour postprandial period, using the trapezoidal rule. The baseline glucose level is defined as the mean glucose value in the 5 minutes immediately preceding meal consumption. For overlapping meals, the iAUC for the first meal is calculated from its start until 2 hours after, and overlapping periods are excluded from subsequent meals' iAUC to ensure each glucose excursion is counted once.
Change in mean values from the baseline monitoring period (10-day period before the intervention) to the post-intervention monitoring period (10-day period immediately following the intervention)
Secondary Outcomes (15)
Change in coefficient of variation (CV)
Change in mean values from the baseline monitoring period (10-day period before the intervention) to the post-intervention monitoring period (10-day period immediately following the intervention)
Change in standard deviation (mg/dL)
Change in mean values from the baseline monitoring period (10-day period before the intervention) to the post-intervention monitoring period (10-day period immediately following the intervention)
Change in mean amplitude of glycemic excursions (MAGE)
Change in mean values from the baseline monitoring period (10-day period before the intervention) to the post-intervention monitoring period (10-day period immediately following the intervention)
Change in glucose spike frequency
Change in mean values from the baseline monitoring period (10-day period before the intervention) to the post-intervention monitoring period (10-day period immediately following the intervention)
Change in time-in-range (%)
Change in mean values from the baseline monitoring period (10-day period before the intervention) to the post-intervention monitoring period (10-day period immediately following the intervention)
- +10 more secondary outcomes
Study Arms (2)
Intervention group
EXPERIMENTALParticipants will be randomly assigned to the intervention group using block randomization with a 1:1 allocation ratio.
Control group
ACTIVE COMPARATORParticipants will be randomly assigned to the control group using block randomization with a 1:1 allocation ratio.
Interventions
Participants assigned to the intervention group receive a 40-minute one-on-one nutrition education session and personalized dietary counseling delivered by the study dietitian. The goals of these sessions are to reduce UPF consumption while maintaining total energy intake and usual lifestyle behaviors. All sessions follow a standardized protocol to ensure consistent delivery of the intervention. The study dietitian delivering the intervention receives training on the standardized protocol prior to participant enrollment.
Participants assigned to the control group are also provided with a 40-minute one-on-one nutrition education session and personalized dietary counseling, but with different objectives. During these sessions, the national dietary guidelines are introduced using an educational leaflet distributed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The education session and counseling provided to the control group do not include any information on UPFs. After completion of the study, participants in the control group are provided with the same nutrition education materials on UPF reduction that are used in the intervention group.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Korean adults aged 20-39 years
- Not currently pregnant
- No personal history of diabetes or other glucose-related conditions
- Consume ≥25% of daily energy intake from UPFs, as assessed by an online, self-administered semi-quantitative screening food frequency questionnaire (FFQ)
- No restriction on wearing a CGM device
- No increased risk of bleeding
- No prior adverse reaction to CGM devices
- Willingness to participate in follow-up assessments
You may not qualify if:
- Unable to maintain continuous follow-up during the study period (e.g., due to special plans such as traveling)
- Planning to follow a special or restrictive diet (e.g., for weight loss) during the study period
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (1)
Health Promotion Lab, College of Health Science, Korea University
Seoul, Seoul, 02841, South Korea
Related Publications (39)
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PMID: 37356446BACKGROUND
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Hannah Oh, ScD
Department of Health Policy and Management, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Central Study Contacts
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- DOUBLE
- Who Masked
- PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
- Masking Details
- Participants and outcome assessors were blinded to group allocation. The study dietitian responsible for delivering the intervention was not blinded; however, allocation was concealed until the time of intervention delivery.
- Purpose
- PREVENTION
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
- PI Title
- Associate Professor
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
September 5, 2025
First Posted
September 16, 2025
Study Start
October 11, 2025
Primary Completion (Estimated)
August 31, 2026
Study Completion (Estimated)
August 31, 2026
Last Updated
April 17, 2026
Record last verified: 2026-04
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will not share
To protect personal information, data files containing personally identifiable information will be accessible only to designated researchers, and any external transfer of related data will be strictly prohibited.