SUSINCHAIN investigates the impact of exposing families (an adult and a child) to meals with alternative proteins (insect-based or plant-based products) on dietary pattern, intake of meat and total protein.
The overall objective of this study is to investigate the impact of exposing paired participants (an adult and a child) to dinner menus of meals with alternative proteins (insect-based or plant-based products) on dietary pattern, intake of meat, and protein over a six-week intervention period. The insect-based menu is the experimental exposure and the plant-based menu is the positive control menu. The hypothesis is that test menus of meals with alternative proteins will replace the meat consumed during dinner, resulting in maintaining the total protein intake while replacing 20% of the meat protein with alternative protein on a weekly basis. The assumption is that the insect-based menus will replace meat protein similarly or to a larger extend than the positive control group receiving the comparable plant-based menu. The inclusion of the positive control group allows us to isolate the specific impact of exposure to insect-based menu from the exposure to dietary change of more familiar plant-based products. The study is a randomized intervention trial recruiting 80 paired participants of an adult and a child age 8-10 year living together in a family, alone or with other family members. The paired participants are randomized to receive one of two menus of meals with alternative proteins, either plant-based or insect-based. Measurements (dietary records, questionnaires) as well as biological samples (urine collection) are taken primarily at baseline (week 0) and endline (week 6).
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
160
The insect menus will consist of 6 different products: flatbread, spice-mix, paste, minced meat, sausage and falafels. The products are based on either crickets, mealworms or buffaloworm larvae.
The plant menus will be based on products which can be purchased in normal supermarkets and chosen to be as equal to the insect-based products as possible.
University of Copenhagen - Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports
Frederiksberg, Denmark
RECRUITINGChange in intake of total daily amount of meat protein at baseline and endline
Data from 4 days dietary registration at each time-point
Time frame: 6 weeks
Change in proportion of meat protein of the total protein intake
Meat intake assessed by 4 day dietary registration, total protein intake assessed by 4 day dietary registration with biochemical validation by spot urine N excretion
Time frame: 6 weeks
Counts of main meals with meat and alternative protein products
Assessed during baseline week and each intervention week, including week of endline assessment
Time frame: 6 weeks
Change in the sensory evaluation of the intervention foods
Changes in the sensory parameters for liking of the intervention food measured on Likert scale from 1 (extremely bad) to 7 (extremely good), meaning the higher score, the higher liking of the intervention food. Each paired participants are randomized to assess two of the six products at the first intervention week and the last intervention week.
Time frame: 6 weeks
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