Evaluating Effectiveness of Spices and Herbs to Increase Vegetable Intake Among Military
Study Details
Study Description
Brief Summary
The goal of this study is to evaluate whether the addition of spices and herbs to the vegetables served to active-duty Service Members living on a large military base can increase vegetable intake as compared to typical vegetable offerings without spices and herbs. The two-phase study design that was successfully implemented by the University of Maryland School of Medicine research team in the most recent Baltimore high school spices and herbs vegetable intervention will be largely replicated, with key adaptations made to reflect the military base setting and specific needs of the active-duty military population that will be determined in a stakeholder engagement process.
| Condition or Disease | Intervention/Treatment | Phase |
|---|---|---|
|
N/A |
Study Design
Arms and Interventions
| Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
|---|---|
| Other: Vegetables Vegetables will be provided to volunteers as part of a heat and serve meal kit. |
Other: Spiced
Vegetables provided to volunteers will be spiced.
Other: Plain
Vegetables provided to volunteers will be plain.
|
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcome Measures
- Vegetable consumption [Volunteers will be provided with a series of heat and serve meal kits over approximately 2 month time period.]
Volunteers will provided with a heat and serve meal kit. Using the food photography mobile application (SmartIntake), volunteers will take a single photo of the meal kit after they have consumed a self-determined desired amount of food. The digital photo will be sent to Pennington Biomedical Research Center (PBRC) for analysis via the SmartIntake app. The team at PBRC will download the image and use a validated algorithm to estimate, in cups, the remaining vegetable component from the meal kit.
Eligibility Criteria
Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
-
Junior Enlisted (E1-E4) Service Member assigned to Naval Support Activity Bethesda (NSAB)
-
Live in barracks on NSAB
-
Read and write English
Exclusion Criteria:
-
Anyone under 18 years of age
-
Anyone not Active Duty in the U.S. military
Contacts and Locations
Locations
| Site | City | State | Country | Postal Code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Naval Support Activity Bethesda | Bethesda | Maryland | United States | 20814 |
Sponsors and Collaborators
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
- University of Maryland, Baltimore
- Nova Institute for Health
- Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine
- Pennington Biomedical Research Center
- McCormick Science Institute
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Jonathan M Scott, PhD, Assistant Professor
Study Documents (Full-Text)
None provided.More Information
Publications
- D'Adamo CR, McArdle PF, Balick L, Peisach E, Ferguson T, Diehl A, Bustad K, Bowden B, Pierce BA, Berman BM. Spice MyPlate: Nutrition Education Focusing Upon Spices and Herbs Improved Diet Quality and Attitudes Among Urban High School Students. Am J Health Promot. 2016 May;30(5):346-56. doi: 10.1177/0890117116646333.
- D'Adamo CR, Parker EA, McArdle PF, Trilling A, Bowden B, Bahr-Robertson MK, Keller KL, Berman BM. The addition of spices and herbs to vegetables in the National School Lunch Program increased vegetable intake at an urban, economically-underserved, and predominantly African-American high school. Food Qual Prefer. 2021 Mar;88. pii: 104076. doi: 10.1016/j.foodqual.2020.104076. Epub 2020 Sep 1.
- Pierce B, Bowden B, McCullagh M, Diehl A, Chissell Z, Rodriguez R, Berman BM, D Adamo CR. A Summer Health Program for African-American High School Students in Baltimore, Maryland: Community Partnership for Integrative Health. Explore (NY). 2017 May - Jun;13(3):186-197. doi: 10.1016/j.explore.2017.02.002. Epub 2017 Feb 24.
- USUHS- 2022-105