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STUDY PROTOCOL article

Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition, Psychology and Brain Health
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1325528

An internet-based self-help intervention for the reduction of consumption of ultra-processed products and increase of physical activity in Mexican university population: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Provisionally accepted
Joel O. González-Cantero Joel O. González-Cantero 1Leyna P. López-Torres Leyna P. López-Torres 2Itzel R. Alvarado-Avalos Itzel R. Alvarado-Avalos 3Fátima López-Alcaraz Fátima López-Alcaraz 4Estefania Gasca-Suarez Estefania Gasca-Suarez 5Adrian Antonio Cisneros-Hernández Adrian Antonio Cisneros-Hernández 6Alexandra Valadez Alexandra Valadez 7Fabiola Macías-Espinoza Fabiola Macías-Espinoza 8Alejandro Dominguez-Rodriguez Alejandro Dominguez-Rodriguez 9*
  • 1 Departamento de Ciencias del Comportamiento, Centro Universitario de los Valles, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
  • 2 Departamento de Ciencias Sociales, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico
  • 3 Maestría en Psicología de la Salud, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico
  • 4 Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Colima, Colima, Mexico
  • 5 Instituto de Nutrición Humana, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico
  • 6 Departamento de proyectos de comunicación, Centro Universitario de Arte, Arquitectura y Diseño, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico
  • 7 Departamento de Transformaciones Sociales, Centro Universitario de Tlajomulco, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico
  • 8 Departamento de Psicología Aplicada, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico
  • 9 Psychology, Health and Technology, University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction The consumption of ultra-processed products has been associated with the etiology of various diseases, mainly metabolic diseases. On the other hand, physical activity acts as a protective factor that helps prevent the appearance of this type of disease. In addition to the physical effects, both the consumption of Ultra-Processed Products (UPPs), and sedentary behaviors have been associated with a significant impact on people's mental health. These problems occur significantly in university students. Online internet interventions are an alternative that has the advantage of reaching a broader sample size and adapting to various problems. Methods. A randomized controlled clinical superiority trial with two independent groups will be developed with 176 participants. Participants in both groups will be evaluated in five moments: 1) pretest, 2) middle of the intervention, 3) post-test, 4) follow-up at three months, and 5) follow-up at 6 months. In the experimental group ("UNISALUD"), participants will receive an intervention composed of 11 sessions with interactive elements such as videos, audio, and infographics created through the User Experience (UX) principles and based on the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA). The participants in the control group will be on the waiting list and will receive treatment 27 days after fulfilling the inclusion criteria. Thus, participants will not receive the treatment immediately. Discussion. The study is expected to establish the feasibility of a self-help internet-based intervention created based on the user experience methodology and the health action process model, leading to a significant decrease and increase in the consumption of UPPs, ultra-healthy products, and physical activity respectively. Conclusion. Internet-based interventions are scarce in Latin America. Due to their potential, this study will provide data about UPPs consumption, physical activity, and mental health of the Mexican population, which will allow to influence the reduction of health-related complications through prevention strategies or measures. Clinical trial registry number: NCT05834842

    Keywords: Ultra-processed products, Ultra-processed foods (UPFs), physical activity, Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Health Psychology, university students, web-based intervention, User Experience (UX)

    Received: 21 Oct 2023; Accepted: 19 Jun 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 González-Cantero, López-Torres, Alvarado-Avalos, López-Alcaraz, Gasca-Suarez, Cisneros-Hernández, Valadez, Macías-Espinoza and Dominguez-Rodriguez. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Alejandro Dominguez-Rodriguez, Psychology, Health and Technology, University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.