Fostering healthy dietary habits through a mobile-health intervention targeting toddlers' food and eating environment

ISRCTN ISRCTN92980420
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN92980420
Secondary identifying numbers Project number from NSD: 48643
Submission date
31/07/2017
Registration date
13/09/2017
Last edited
18/10/2022
Recruitment status
No longer recruiting
Overall study status
Completed
Condition category
Nutritional, Metabolic, Endocrine
Prospectively registered
Protocol
Statistical analysis plan
Results
Individual participant data

Plain English summary of protocol

Background and study aims
The aim of this study is to develop and assess the effect of an e-health intervention, Food4toddlers ("Mat til Minsten" in Norwegian), that aims to promote healthy dietary habits in toddlers by targeting parents’ awareness of their child’s food and eating environment.

Who can participate?
Children aged from 12 to 18 months and their parents

What does the study involve?
Participants are randomly allocated to the intervention group or the control group. The intervention group get access to the Food4toddlers website for 6 months with weekly updates. Participants in the control group receive their usual treatment at community child health centres and do not have access to the website. The intervention group and the control group fill in surveys before and after the intervention. The child’s diet and self-feeding skills and the parents’ feeding practice, food planning skills and shopping behaviour are all assessed.

What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Benefits of participating in the intervention group include being updated on information regarding healthy food and eating environment, and the possibility of improving child diet and health. There are no risks related to participating.

Where is the study run from?
University of Agder (Norway)

When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
March 2015 to June 2022

Who is funding the study?
University of Agder (Norway)

Who is the main contact?
1. Mrs Margrethe Røed
2. Prof. Nina Cecilie Øverby

Study website

Contact information

Mrs Margrethe Røed
Scientific

Box 422
Kristiansand
4604
Norway

Prof Nina Cecilie Øverby
Scientific

Box 422
Kristiansand
4604
Norway

ORCiD logoORCID ID 0000-0002-1871-041X

Study information

Study designRandomized controlled trial
Primary study designInterventional
Secondary study designRandomised controlled trial
Study setting(s)Home
Study typePrevention
Participant information sheet The participant information sheet is in Norwegian and is accessible from www.uia.no/mattilminsten
Scientific titleFostering healthy dietary habits through a mobile-health intervention targeting toddlers' food and eating environment: a randomized controlled trial
Study acronymFood4toddlers
Study objectivesThe intervention children compared to the control children:
1. Will have a more healthy and varied diet at ages 18, 24 and 48 months
2. Will have parents who are more responsive in their feeding practice
3. Will have more frequent planned and shared family meals, and less frequent meal distractions
4. Will have parents who are more aware of the food environment and make healthier choices at both in the grocery and at home
5. Will have healthier growth trajectory at ages 18, 24 and 48 months
6. Differences in diet between children with parents of low SES compared to high SES will be smaller in the intervention compared to control group
Ethics approval(s)Norwegian Centre for Research Data, 29/06/2017, ref: 48643
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studiedHealthy dietary habits and long-term health and wellbeing
InterventionThe overall objective of this study is to develop, implement, and evaluate the effect of a e-health intervention, Food4toddlers, that aims to promote healthy dietary habits in toddlers through targeting parental awareness of child food and eating environment. The participants will be randomised to either the control or the intervention group based on a computer-generated list of 500. Participants will be randomized consecutively, based on the time of completion of the first questionnaire. The intervention group get access to the website for 6 months, with weekly updates. The information given on the website relates to healthy food and eating environment (including choices made in grocery shopping). Participants in the control group will receive their usual treatment at the community child health centres, and do not have access to the web intervention. Among the participants in the control group three participants will be selected who will receive a reward. The intervention group and the control group answer surveys before and after the intervention.

The intervention will run when the child is from 12 to 18 months and measurements will be performed at ages 12, 18, 24 and 48 months.
Intervention typeBehavioural
Primary outcome measureChild diet quality and food variety, assessed using food frequency questions regarding core- and non-core food at inclusion, 18, 24, and 48 months
Secondary outcome measures1. Eating environment (two levels):
1.1. Parental feeding practices (under/over-eating, hunger, infant cues, feeding attitudes, practices, perceptions/concern regarding weight), assessed using closed form survey at inclusion, 18, 24, and 48 months
1.2. Family meal setting (frequency of meals, meal distractions), assessed using closed form survey at inclusion, 18, 24, and 48 months
2. Food environment (two levels):
2.1. Food choice and awareness of food environment (planning, doing groceries, what influences food choice), assessed using closed form survey at inclusion, 18, 24, and 48 months
2.2. Availability and visibility of food in the home (availability and visibility of non-core and core foods), assessed using closed form survey at inclusion, 18, 24, and 48 months
3. Food preparation and planning, assessed using closed form survey at inclusion, 18, 24, and 48 months
4. Weight and length assessed using closed form survey at inclusion, 18, 24, and 48 months
Overall study start date01/03/2015
Completion date30/06/2022

Eligibility

Participant type(s)All
Age groupMixed
SexBoth
Target number of participants500 children with parents
Total final enrolment148
Key inclusion criteria1. Children aged from 12 to 18 months during the intervention period
2. Parents of these children
Key exclusion criteriaParents who cannot speak and write Norwegian
Date of first enrolment15/08/2017
Date of final enrolment31/01/2018

Locations

Countries of recruitment

  • Norway

Study participating centre

University of Agder
Boks 422
Kristiansand
-
Norway

Sponsor information

University of Agder
University/education

Box 422
Kristiansand
4604
Norway

Website uia.no
ROR logo "ROR" https://ror.org/03x297z98

Funders

Funder type

University/education

University of Agder

No information available

Results and Publications

Intention to publish date20/12/2018
Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to shareNo
IPD sharing plan summaryData sharing statement to be made available at a later date
Publication and dissemination planThe protocol will be published and made available, however it is not submitted yet. A statistical plan will be included in the protocol.

Proposed scientific papers:
Paper 1: An intervention targeting toddlers’ food and eating environment: Effects on toddlers overall diet, food variety and self-feeding skills
Paper 2: An intervention targeting toddlers’ food and eating environment: Effects on toddlers’ food preferences and parent’s feeding style, feeding practices and meal distractions
Paper 3 : An intervention targeting toddlers food and eating environment: Effect on parental awareness of food environment at micro and macrolevel (home and food grocery store)
Paper 4 (parents SES): Differences in dietary behaviour between children with parents of low SES compared to high SES: Effects of an interventions targeting toddlers food and eating environment
IPD sharing planThe data sharing plans for the current study are unknown and will be made available at a later date

Study outputs

Output type Details Date created Date added Peer reviewed? Patient-facing?
Results article results 06/07/2020 08/07/2020 Yes No
Results article results 16/02/2021 17/02/2021 Yes No
Results article results on parental phone use 20/04/2021 22/04/2021 Yes No
Protocol article 14/05/2019 18/10/2022 Yes No

Editorial Notes

18/10/2022: Publication reference added.
22/04/2021: Publication reference added.
17/02/2021: Publication reference added.
08/07/2020: The following changes were made to the trial record:
1. Publication reference added.
2. The total final enrolment was added.
09/04/2018: Recruitment end date was changed from 31/12/2017 to 31/01/2018.