Implementation and Evaluation of Nutrition Interventions

Summary

This project aims to implement and evaluate two multi-component dietary interventions focused on promoting healthy and sustainable eating behaviors and preventing weight gain among Flemish higher education students. These interventions will take place over a period of eight weeks and are specifically designed to support healthy lifestyle choices during the transition from secondary school to higher education, a critical period where unhealthy eating behaviors and weight gain are common.

The interventions will be conducted at a university and a college, utilizing nudges in student restaurants, social media campaigns via Instagram, and workshops to encourage healthy and sustainable eating habits. Effectiveness will be measured using questionnaires administered at three points in time: before the intervention (baseline), immediately after the intervention (post-intervention), and five months later (follow-up). Two other campuses will serve as a control group to compare results.

In addition to assessing effectiveness, a process evaluation will also be conducted. This will involve focus groups with students and stakeholders, as well as a process questionnaire, to gain insights into the implementation of the interventions and the experiences of those involved. If the interventions prove successful, they may be scaled up to other Flemish institutions as part of a broader strategy for cancer prevention.

Conditions

• Healthy Participants
• Nutrition Intervention
• Higher Education Students

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Healthy eating promoting programme

It is a comprehensive, multi-component intervention tailored specifically for higher education students. Unlike many traditional health programs, this intervention uniquely combines the use of social media campaigns, behavioral nudges in student cafeterias, and interactive boost workshops.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University Ghent

  collaborator OTHER

• Stichting tegen Kanker

  collaborator OTHER

• Vlaams Instituut Gezond Leven VZW

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Vrije Universiteit Brussel

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Tom Deliens · Vrije Universiteit Brussel

• Wendy Van Lippevelde · University Ghent

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

SEQUENTIAL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

24 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-02-17

Primary Completion

2025-02-17

Completion

2025-12-31

Countries

• Belgium

Study Locations