NCT06266533

Dismantling the U.S. Social Norm of the "Kids' Food" Archetype (REACH Project)

Dismantling the U.S. Social Norm of the "Kids' Food" Archetype That Includes Ultra-processed Foods Such as Chicken Nuggets and Fries in the Newark, NJ Community

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 38 (actual)
• Sponsor: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey · Academic / Other
• Sex: Female
• Age: 18 Years – 85 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This project is the first stage of a health promotion campaign to shift social norms about marketing and feeding children ultra-processed foods. Embedded within a longitudinal ethnographic study using photo-elicitation techniques, mothers of preschool-age children will be randomly assigned to arts-based or traditional education about ultra-processed food.

Detailed description

1. At baseline, describe how mothers of preschool-age children characterize food for children in their home and local environment and describe their knowledge of ultra-processed food. 2. To test different ways of providing nutrition education for increasing knowledge about children's nutrition and ultra-processed foods. Hypothesis: Both groups will correctly identify more ultra-processed foods post-education. 3. To learn in depth from mothers of preschool children about their perceptions of the food environmental culture (markets, advertising, health messaging, community norms, cultural norms, social norms) in Newark, NJ, through a series of focus group discussions about the mothers' photographs of the local food environment pre and post project.

Conditions

• Food Selection
• Environmental Exposure

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Conventional Ultra-processed Food Nutrition Education	The participants will receive a conventional nutrition education session with slides, flyers/handouts, and a lecture with discussion.
BEHAVIORAL	Arts-based Ultra-processed Food Nutrition Education	The participants will receive an arts-based nutrition education session with video, animation, music, and discussion.

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-02-21
• Primary completion: 2024-07-01
• Completion: 2024-07-01
• First posted: 2024-02-20
• Last updated: 2025-07-24

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States