Diet, Healthy

The overarching research question is: "Does the provision of healthy food (Delivering HOPE) during pregnancy reduce the proportion of women who experience excessive gestational weight gain compared with enhanced standard of care (ESoC)?" To answer this question, the investigators will conduct a large multi-site randomized controlled trial with 1,440 women. Women will be randomized to either the Delivering HOPE arm or the ESoC arm, with approximately 720 participants per arm. Participants randomized to the ESoC arm will receive the standard clinical protocol for nutritional and gestational weight gain counseling recommended for all pregnant women, WIC and SNAP enrollment assistance, referrals to safety net food organizations.Those randomized to the Delivering HOPE arm will be provided the same nutritional and gestational weight gain counseling, WIC and SNAP assistance, and food referrals, as well as a total of $1000/$2000/$3000 (depending on household size) during pregnancy to be used specifically for the purchase of healthy foods recommended in the nutritional counseling. Data for the primary outcome (pre-pregnancy weight and weight at delivery) will be collected from birth records.

This is a pilot feasibility study designed to establish the feasibility and acceptability of the "Support Your Heart" (SYH) study's phone-based protocols regarding AHA's LE8, social isolation, loneliness, and stress. The age range for this intervention is 18-39, which is intended to reflect the transitional life period from adolescence to adulthood. Participants must also display at least two LE8 risk factors for cardiovascular disease (e.g., not enough sleep or physical activity; tobacco/nicotine product use; elevated body mass index; high cholesterol, high blood pressure, elevated HbA1c , and/or poor diet). Participants will receive weekly calls (averaging around 20-30 minutes each) from a SYH health coach in order to review key concepts, give personalized progress, and provide consistent feedback over the course of 12 weeks. SYH staff will measure improvement in AHA metrics as well as participant burden, acceptability, satisfaction, adherence, and retention. This research has the potential to create substantial public health impact by addressing cardiovascular health, social isolation, loneliness, and stress, all of which represent significant burdens to individual health.

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare how much glucoraphanin and sulforaphane from 3 different versions of broccoli extract supplements is absorbed into the body and excreted in urine. This study involves generally healthy adults age 18-60 years. The supplements contain glucoraphanin and myrosinase enzyme, both naturally occurring in cruciferous vegetables. Once ingested, glucoraphanin is converted to the bioactive compound sulforaphane, which is thought to have numerous health benefits, including cancer prevention. Participants will: * consume 3 different versions of broccoli extract supplements (glucoraphanin will range from 35-70 mg) * complete 3 separate 24 hour study cycles * submit blood and urine samples for 24 hours * follow diet restrictions (no cruciferous vegetables or condiments or phytochemical/herbal supplements for 1 week prior to and during each study cycle)

Improving multiple domains of cardiometabolic health (CMH) through contextual behavioral interventions has the potential to substantially reduce persistent chronic disease disparities. Sleep is critical for preserving CMH and is amenable to intervention in real-world settings. Although sleep health, in conjunction with other lifestyle behaviors, can improve CMH through complementary or synergistic pathways, most existing lifestyle change programs focus solely on diet and physical activity. Sleep2BWell is a community-based cluster randomized trial aimed at evaluating the impact of incorporating a multidimensional sleep health intervention into the BWell4Life program, an ongoing 4-week program for promoting CMH through healthy diet and physical activity, delivered by peer health educators at faith-based organizations and community centers in underserved NYC neighborhoods. The enhanced 6-week intervention, Sleep2BWell, will include the following additional components: 1) two sleep health education and group coaching sessions, 2) self-monitoring and motivational enhancement using a Fitbit, and 3) addressing prevalent environmental barriers to healthy sleep in urban settings such as noise and light with a novel and timely extension to address indoor air pollution. A total of 10 community sites will receive the intervention enrolling an average of 15 participants per site for an expected sample of 150. The investigators will collect objective measures of sleep and physical activity throughout the study, and assess diet and CMH outcomes at baseline and 10 weeks (primary endpoint). The investigators hypothesize that Sleep2BWell will improve CMH, including reduced blood pressure (primary outcome) improved health behaviors (sleep, diet, physical activity) and adiposity markers (secondary outcomes). To ensure the successful completion and future expansion of this work, this study will use mixed methods to understand implementation determinants and outcomes, guided by implementation science frameworks. This first-of-its-kind effectiveness-implementation study, addressing individual level behaviors and factors and upstream influences and leveraging key behavior change and community engagement strategies, will investigate the integration of sleep health into a multi-behavior lifestyle change intervention aimed at addressing CMH disparities in community settings. This innovative multilevel intervention will inform scalable sustainable community health approaches and public health policy to improve sleep health and CMH disparities through advancement in novel multilevel bundled behavioral interventions.

The purpose of this study is to assess the efficacy of a family-based digital (web and mobile phone-based) program known as Healthy Together ("Juntos") in preventing increases in body mass index and improving moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, diet quality, and percentage body fat among Hispanic adolescents.

The goal of this pilot study is to examine the feasibility and effects of an 18-month intervention diet compared to an active control diet (standard diet) in those living with Parkinson's Disease (PD), without dementia. Research has shown that eating components of Mediterranean diets are associated with a 30% lower risk to develop PD and a 40% lower mortality rate in those living with PD. Diet may influence the gut and microbiomes, thus may affect PD risk and progression. This study will examine how easy it will be to adhere to a certain type of diet for 18 months and what changes may occur in the gut microbiome and in PD symptoms on a specific diet during that time. The study will involve in-person study visits at UBC as well as online diet coaching sessions and online group cooking classes over Zoom. This is a randomized study, meaning that participants will be assigned by chance to either the Mediterranean-style diet group or the standard diet group for the duration of the 18 months. This pilot study will also examine recruitment rates and retention, in order to prepare for a larger future study.

This study will address the following aims: Aim 1: Conduct an 8-week pilot RCT to examine the effects of a whole foods diet intervention on body adiposity in adolescents with obesity. Aim 1a (Primary): Evaluate intervention effectiveness on total fat mass following the 8-week intervention. Hypothesis 1a: Adolescents randomized to the whole foods intervention will have lower total fat mass (kg) at the 8-week follow-up than those in the control group. Aim 1b: Evaluate intervention effectiveness on anthropometric changes following the 8-week intervention. Hypothesis 1b: Adolescents randomized to the whole foods intervention will have lower weight, BMI-z scores and/or waist circumference at the 8-week follow-up than those in the control group. Secondary Aims: Aim 2: Conduct an 8-week pilot RCT to examine the effects of a whole foods diet intervention on diet quality in adolescent and parent pairs during the study period. Hypothesis 2: Adolescents and parents randomized to the whole foods intervention will have higher diet quality scores at the 8-week follow-up than those in the control group. Aim 3: Conduct post-intervention family focus groups to identify how individual/family needs and preferences and social determinants of health (SDOH) may be perceived barriers and/or facilitators of diet adherence to a whole foods diet pattern.

This study will address the following aims: Aim 1 (primary): Conduct a pilot RCT to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, enrollment, and retention rates of adult-child pairs after a 12-week family-centered, non-calorie restricted whole foods diet. Feasibility: ≥80% participant retention and completion of study outcome measures. Acceptability: ≥75 adult diet satisfaction via survey report and/or perceived diet satisfaction via focus groups. Aim 2: Conduct a pilot RCT to evaluate the preliminary effectiveness of a non-calorie restricted whole foods diet on adult HbA1c at 12 weeks and adult/child diet quality during the 12-week intervention. Aim 2a: Evaluate intervention effects on HbA1c measures in adults with prediabetes. Hypothesis 2a: Adults randomized to the treatment group will have lower HbA1c measures at 12 weeks than those in the control group. Aim 2b: Evaluate intervention effects on the diet quality (via the 2020 HEI) of adults and children. Hypothesis 2b: Adults and children randomized to the treatment group will have a higher diet quality score during the 12-week intervention period compared to adults and children in the control group. Aim 3: Conduct family focus groups to understand how SDOH and individual/family needs and preferences may be perceived barriers or facilitators of diet adherence.

The purpose of this study is to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of a digital (web and mobile-phone-based) program to improve lifestyle behaviors (physical activity, dietary intake) among Hispanic female cancer survivors and adult daughters.

Fear of hypoglycemia has a significant impact on both medication and dietary adherence in individuals with diabetes. Through avoidance behaviors, it can disrupt metabolic control, prevent the achievement of glycemic targets, and increase the risk of long-term complications. Therefore, monitoring only biochemical parameters is insufficient in diabetes management. It is crucial for healthcare professionals to systematically assess the fear of hypoglycemia.

Latino individuals face an elevated risk of adverse health outcomes during pregnancy, impacting both the birthing parent and the baby with potential long-term chronic health conditions. While promoting a healthy diet during pregnancy is a promising strategy, interventions targeting dietary behaviors have yielded mixed results and lack widespread dissemination in communities in need. Collaborating with community-based organizations could enhance cultural relevance, build trust with Latino families, and improve program reach and effectiveness. Food Education Access Support Together (FEAST) is a community-based program that promotes healthy eating, well-being, and health equity for diverse, under-resourced urban populations in Los Angeles. The newly developed FEAST Perinatal Support Program (PSP) aims to support individuals through pregnancy and postpartum by providing dietary psychoeducation, skill-building, and social support, with an additional component of grocery gift cards to address food access barriers. This study proposes a pilot trial to assess the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of the FEAST PSP in enhancing dietary outcomes, overall health, and socio-cognitive precursors, in pregnant individuals. The study will enroll 40 pregnant adults in a single-arm study who will receive the core PSP with a $15 gift card for healthful fresh food (PSP+giftcard). Pre- and post-intervention assessments will include questionnaires, dietary recalls, physical measurements, and interviews to evaluate program perceptions. Specific aims include evaluating program feasibility and acceptability (i.e., reach, retention, and participant perceptions) and determining preliminary efficacy on changing socio-cognitive and behavioral aspects of diet, self-reported health, and cardiometabolic risk factors. The project aligns with goals of improving health outcomes in Latino families in Southern California and supports FEAST's strategic objectives for improving health and wellness of individuals during pregnancy and throughout the lifespan. The findings will inform program refinement and future NIH grants for rigorous evaluation of the FEAST PSP.

High food motivation among children is trait-like and increases risks of unhealthy dietary intake and obesity. Scientific knowledge of how parenting can best support healthy eating habits and growth among children who are predisposed to overeating is surprisingly limited. This investigation will identify supportive food parenting approaches for obesity prevention that address the needs of highly food motivated children.

Increasing fruit and vegetable (FV) intake, and reducing saturated fat, salt, and added sugar are central lifestyle recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans to prevent chronic disease. Yet, while diet is modifiable, numerous barriers exist for lower-resourced families to engage in healthy dietary behaviors. In particular, rural families face structural and systemic disparities, such as inadequate access to affordable healthy food. Thus, this project. Thus, this study, PhytoRx Families, an innovative produce prescription (Prx) program, addresses health disparities in rural North Carolina (NC). This project will pilot test and explore the impact of PhytoRx Families (PhtyoRxF) on nutrition-related, health-related, and healthcare utilization outcomes.

Lower attainment of cardiovascular health (CVH), indicated by the American Heart Association's Life's Simple 7 (LS7; physical activity, diet, cholesterol, blood pressure, body mass index, smoking, glycemia) and Life's Essential 8 (LE8; LS7+sleep) metrics, is a major contributor to Black men having the shortest life-expectancy of any non-indigenous race/sex group. Unfortunately, a paucity of literature exists on interventions aimed at improving CVH among Black men. The team of clinician scientists and community partners co-developed a community-based lifestyle intervention titled Black Impact: a 24-week intervention for Black men with less-than-ideal CVH (\<4 LS7 metrics in the ideal range) with 45 minutes of weekly physical activity, 45 minutes of weekly health education, and engagement with a health coach, group fitness trainer, and community health worker. Single-arm pilot testing of the intervention (n=74) revealed high feasibility, acceptability, and retention and a 0.93 (95% confidence interval: 0.40, 1.46, p\<0.001) point increase in LS7 score at 24 weeks. Secondary outcomes included improvements in psychosocial stress (i.e., perceived stress, depressive symptoms), patient activation, and social needs. Thus, robustly powered clinical trials are needed to determine the efficacy of Black Impact and to evaluate the underlying interpersonal and molecular pathways by which Black Impact improves psychosocial stress and CVH. Thus, the investigators propose a randomized, wait-list controlled trial of Black Impact. This novel, community-based intervention to provide a scalable model to improve CVH and psychosocial stress at the population level and evaluate the biological underpinnings by which the intervention mitigates cardiovascular disease risk. The proposed study aligns with American Heart Association's commitment to addressing CVH equity through innovative, multi-modal solutions.

Obesity is a major public health problem and is constantly on the rise. Therapeutic approaches based on dietary advice, physical activity and the management of psychological difficulties are not always sufficient to achieve a lasting weight reduction. Bariatric surgery (or obesity surgery), accompanied by therapeutic education and adequate medical and dietary monitoring, can lead to significant and lasting weight loss. It is indicated as a second-line treatment for patients who have failed medical treatment, whose BMI is greater than or equal to 40 or whose BMI is greater than or equal to 35 with comorbidities (type 2 diabetes, arterial hypertension, obstructive sleep apnoea-hypopnoea syndrome, severe joint disorders). The surgeon may be very bothered by the intra-abdominal fat mass and especially by steatotic hepatomegaly (increase in the size of the liver and its fat load). Faced with this problem, various preoperative strategies such as the placement of an intra gastric balloon have been tried to decrease the size of the liver but a systematic review from 2016 indicates that a low calorie diet is preferable. Preoperative weight loss can reduce fat load and liver volume very rapidly. This meta-analysis shows that all low-calorie, high-protein diets are effective and that the optimal duration (4 weeks), compliance and tolerance are important factors for success.

This is a pilot study in 10 men to test the hypothesis that perturbations in substrate flux and the circulating metabolic and pro-inflammatory milieus during a high-fat diet paradigm will modulate DNA methylation of genes in sperm associated with obesity and cardiometabolic dysfunction.

Food insecurity and low diet quality are persistent problems linked with chronic disease and poor health among limited-resource children and adults using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). We have shown nutrition education via adult-focused, direct SNAP-Education (SNAP-Ed) improved household food security by 25% but not adult dietary quality among SNAP-eligible households using a randomized, controlled, longitudinal SNAP-Ed intervention in Indiana. Households experiencing food insecurity often reserve food considered "healthful" for children, so child dietary quality improvement may precede that observed among adults when household food security improves. This study will determine the effect of adult-focused direct SNAP-Ed on child dietary quality and household food security using a longitudinal randomized, controlled SNAP-Ed intervention. Assessment will include repeated 24-hour dietary recalls to determine usual intake, the U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module, and behavior data from before and after the 10-week "intervention period," and 1 year later, after which the control group will receive the intervention. Low-income participants (n=275) from Indiana will be recruited following SNAP-Ed protocol. Results of the study will inform the creation of supplementary on-demand SNAP-Ed educational material focused on improving healthful dietary intake for children and adults in situations of food insecurity in households with children. Education on modeling healthy attitudes and behaviors, planning and preparing family meals, and dietary shortfalls as informed by the results and previous evidence will be included and evaluated. The study aligns with the goals of USDA to increase food security and this RFP to improve healthful behaviors, food quality and nutrition.

The overall objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of an optimized lifestyle intervention based on dietary advice, behavioral support, and provision of key foods compared to dietary advice with behavioral support or dietary advice alone. The intervention aims to improve nutritional status, metabolic risk factors, and planetary sustainability. A total of 300 participants (150 men and 150 women) who meet all inclusion criteria and none of the exclusion criteria will be recruited. The study will be conducted at the Centre for Lifestyle Intervention at Östra Hospital in Gothenburg, led by researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, University of Gothenburg, and Sahlgrenska University Hospital. Participants will be recruited from two different socioeconomic areas in Gothenburg to examine how dietary interventions function in diverse population groups. The study follows a twelve-week randomized, controlled, parallel intervention design. Participants will be randomized into three groups, each with 100 individuals: Optimized lifestyle intervention group - receiving dietary advice, behavioral support, and provision of key foods. Behavioral support intervention group - receiving dietary advice and behavioral support. Control group - receiving dietary advice according to the SWITCH diet. The SWITCH diet, developed within the EU project SWITCH, is designed to align with European dietary guidelines and promote sustainable and healthy eating habits. It emphasizes whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, and sustainable seafood while limiting processed foods, added sugars, and salt. Throughout the study, participants will undergo clinical assessments at baseline, midpoint (week 7), and endpoint (week 13). Key measurements include anthropometric data, blood pressure, blood glucose, blood lipids, and inflammatory markers. Dietary intake and sustainability aspects of food consumption will also be evaluated. Participants in the intervention groups will receive personalized coaching and access to practical resources, such as meal plans, recipes, and visual educational materials. The primary outcome of the study is the difference in cardiometabolic risk factors (e.g., blood lipids, blood pressure, glucose, insulin resistance markers) between the intervention groups. Secondary outcomes include changes in dietary intake, nutritional status markers, inflammatory markers, and sustainability measures (e.g., CO₂ emissions, land use, biodiversity impact). Additionally, exploratory analyses will investigate associations between diet, lifestyle changes, gut microbiota, and metabolic responses. This study aims to generate valuable insights into the effectiveness of different dietary intervention strategies in real-life Nordic conditions. The results will contribute to the development of evidence-based recommendations for sustainable and health-promoting dietary patterns.

The goal of this clinical trial is to test the ability of a home-based parental nutrition intervention to improve diet quality in preschool aged children within low-income, Latinx/Hispanic families. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does this enhanced intervention change children's diet quality? * Does this enhanced intervention change parental feeding practices? * Does this enhanced intervention change the availability of healthy foods in the home? Participants will: * Work with a support coach * Have a home visit with a support coach once a month, for three months * Have a phone call with a support coach once a month, for three months * Receive written materials and text messages over the six months Researchers will compare a control group receiving different written materials and messages to see if the enhanced intervention changes diet quality in children.

This is a cluster randomized controlled trial of 30 food pantries affiliated with the Greater Boston Food Bank to test the use of behavioral economics (BE) tools to encourage food pantries to implement the Supporting Wellness at Pantries (SWAP) program, with the goal of fostering accurate use of SWAP traffic light labels on pantry shelves and increasing the healthfulness of foods chosen by pantry clients. Primary outcomes will be assessed at 6 and 12 months to compare the implementation and effectiveness of the SWAP program in the intervention vs. control pantries.

This is an Randomized controlled trial (RCT) to assess the impact of meal planning and affordable grocery delivery on weight loss, dietary quality and health on members of multigenerational Latino households.

Immunosenescence is the age-related decline of the immune system, involving a state of chronic inflammation and a decrease in the diversity/adaptability of the lymphocyte repertoire. The consequences of immunosenescence are multiple, including increased susceptibility to infections and poorer vaccine responses.

The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of polyphenols from natural aronia juice on the immune system. Therefore, the study aims to distinguish the effects of natural juices that are rich in phytonutrients such as polyphenols and carotenoids in healthy and depressive subjects in order to use the known positive effects of these food sources in the therapeutic setting. The consumption of natural fruit juices that are rich in polyphenols and carotenoids mirror a model of vegetarian diet due to the increased micronutrient density derived from plant food. Results obtained here can be seen as preliminary explanation models for the beneficial effects of vegetarian diet. It is hypothesized, that the consumption of naturally polyphenol rich aronia juice changes the expression of regulatory T cells, specific cells of the immune system that contribute to immunomodulation. Furthermore, beneficial changes in the gut microbiome, the metabolome and the nutritional status are expected in the studied groups. The study was registered retrospectively (after start of recruitment) on Clinicaltrials.gov.

The goal of this clinical trial is to conduct a dietary intervention targeting HIV specific gut microbiota alterations for primary atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) prevention and evaluate its effectiveness in preventing ASCVD among older people living with HIV (PLWH).

The DietCoach study aims to investigate the requirements of a digital dietary counseling platform, and evaluate the dietitian acceptance and usability of the DietCoach platform, which was developed based on the collected requirements. Additionally, the study examines how different levels of patient food purchase data availability affect these factors. The DietCoach platform automatically tracks historic and up-to-date patient food purchase data on loyalty cards and provides nutritional analysis, assisting dietitians in the dietary counseling process. The key research questions (RQ) are: 1. What are the requirements of a digital dietary counseling system based on food purchase data? 2. What is acceptance and usability of the DietCoach platform evaluated by dietitians? 3. How does the availability of patient food purchase data influence the acceptance and perceived usability of the DietCoach platform by dietitians? Dietitians from several cantonal hospitals in the German-speaking area of Switzerland are invited to participate in the study. To answer RQ1, we conduct a workshop and a survey with dietitians to derive key requirements on dietary counseling systems. To answer RQ2 and RQ3, we use a cross-sectional, mixed-methods, between-subjects study design. Researchers will evaluate and compare the acceptance and usability of DietCoach in 3 different conditions (3 patients that had different, i.e., high, medium and low, food purchase data availability). Each participant is assigned to the data of one patient. Participants are required to: 1. use the DietCoach platform to provide at least one dietary recommendation to patient food purchase data in two separate sessions. 2. provide quantitative and qualitative feedback about the acceptance and usability of the DietCoach platform.