Using Reinforcement Schedules to Increase Fruit&Vegetable Intake, Reduce Waste, and Increase School Lunch Participation

Sponsor

New Mexico State University (Other)

Overall Status

Completed

CT.gov ID

NCT05633251

Collaborator

Paso del Norte Health Foundation (Other), University of Texas (Other), Brigham Young University (Other), Ysleta Independent School District, El Paso (Other)

1,626

Enrollment

Location

Arms

7.7

Actual Duration (Months)

210.6

Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

Using small monetary rewards to reinforce healthy behaviors, such as the consumption of fruits and vegetables (F&V), the investigators tested fixed and variable reinforcement schedules in three middle schools.

The investigators measured carotenoid levels, as a biomarker of F&V intake, and F&V waste over the intervention time frame. The investigators also tracked the school lunch participation rates over time.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Behavioral Changes Psychology, Social Nutrition	Behavioral: Variable (random) interval Behavioral: Variable (non-random) interval Behavioral: Variable (random) interval with table tents Behavioral: Control	N/A

Study Design

Study Type:

Interventional

Actual Enrollment :

1626 participants

Allocation:

Non-Randomized

Intervention Model:

Crossover Assignment

Intervention Model Description:

Number of participants below is best estimate of students exposed to the intervention based on school lunch participation rates.Number of participants below is best estimate of students exposed to the intervention based on school lunch participation rates.

Masking:

Single (Participant)

Masking Description:

Participants were not aware of the purpose of the intervention.

Primary Purpose:

Prevention

Official Title:

Using Reinforcement Schedules to Improve Carotenoid Levels, Reduce Fruit and Vegetable Waste, and Increase School Lunch Participation in El Paso

Actual Study Start Date :

Sep 14, 2015

Actual Primary Completion Date :

May 6, 2016

Actual Study Completion Date :

May 6, 2016

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/Treatment
Experimental: School 1	Behavioral: Variable (non-random) interval Using Variable (Non-random) Interval Reinforcement Schedules to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake, Reduce Fruit and Vegetable Waste, and Increase School Lunch Participation Behavioral: Control No intervention
Experimental: School 2	Behavioral: Variable (random) interval Using Variable (Random) Interval Reinforcement Schedules to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake, Reduce Fruit and Vegetable Waste, and Increase School Lunch Participation Behavioral: Control No intervention
Experimental: School 3	Behavioral: Variable (random) interval Using Variable (Random) Interval Reinforcement Schedules to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake, Reduce Fruit and Vegetable Waste, and Increase School Lunch Participation Behavioral: Variable (random) interval with table tents Using Variable (Random) Interval Reinforcement Schedules and Table Tents with Health-related Messages to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake, Reduce Fruit and Vegetable Waste, and Increase School Lunch Participation

Arm

Intervention/Treatment

Experimental: School 1

Behavioral: Variable (non-random) interval

Using Variable (Non-random) Interval Reinforcement Schedules to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake, Reduce Fruit and Vegetable Waste, and Increase School Lunch Participation

Behavioral: Control

No intervention

Experimental: School 2

Behavioral: Variable (random) interval

Using Variable (Random) Interval Reinforcement Schedules to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake, Reduce Fruit and Vegetable Waste, and Increase School Lunch Participation

Behavioral: Control

No intervention

Experimental: School 3

Behavioral: Variable (random) interval

Using Variable (Random) Interval Reinforcement Schedules to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake, Reduce Fruit and Vegetable Waste, and Increase School Lunch Participation

Behavioral: Variable (random) interval with table tents

Using Variable (Random) Interval Reinforcement Schedules and Table Tents with Health-related Messages to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake, Reduce Fruit and Vegetable Waste, and Increase School Lunch Participation

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

Change in food waste [24 weeks]
Daily fruit, vegetable, and other food waste (in lbs)
Change in fruit and vegetable intake [12 weeks]
As measured by carotenoid level, a biomarker for total fruit and vegetable intake; measured before and after the intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

School lunch participation rates [32 weeks]
Number of participants in the school lunch program

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:

11 Years to 16 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study:

All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Yes

Inclusion Criteria:

students attending three participating middle schools (Ysleta Independent School District)

Exclusion Criteria:

Contacts and Locations

Locations

	Site	City	State	Country	Postal Code
1	Ysleta Independent School District	El Paso	Texas	United States	79925

Sponsors and Collaborators

New Mexico State University
Paso del Norte Health Foundation
University of Texas
Brigham Young University
Ysleta Independent School District, El Paso

Investigators

Principal Investigator: Mihai Niculescu, PhD, New Mexico State University

Study Documents (Full-Text)

None provided.

More Information

Publications

None provided.

Responsible Party:

Mihai Niculescu, Professor of Marketing, New Mexico State University

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:

NCT05633251

Other Study ID Numbers:

12335 & 12324

First Posted:

Dec 1, 2022

Last Update Posted:

Dec 1, 2022

Last Verified:

Nov 1, 2022

Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement:

Plan to Share IPD:

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product:

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product:

Keywords provided by Mihai Niculescu, Professor of Marketing, New Mexico State University

fruit, vegetable, food waste

Study Results

No Results Posted as of Dec 1, 2022