Diet, Food, Exercise and Nutrition During Social Distancing (DFEND)

Our long-term goal is to contribute to the development of evidence-based nutritional and physical activity recommendations for the prevention and management of overweight and obesity and related chronic diseases.

The overall objective for this study is to determine if a 20-week educational program, project DFEND, related to behavior change and health will improve nutrition and physical activity outcomes as well as indicators of wellbeing.

Our central hypothesis is that regular attendance of weekly lectures, weekly meetings with personalized coaches, and weekly health challenges via virtual platforms (e.g. Zoom, Facebook, YouTube) will improve health outcomes related to nutrition and physical activity.

Our rationale for these studies is that the results of this research will enhance the potential to develop evidence-based nutritional and physical activity behavioral recommendations to treat and/or prevent development of overweight and obesity.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Sleep; Mood; Healthy Lifestyle; Healthy Eating
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Education; Behavioral: Personalized coaching; Behavioral: Weekly behavior modification challenges

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 150
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Arkansas
    • Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States, 72704
      • University of Arkansas

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Resides in Arkansas
• All ethnicities
• Female and male

Exclusion Criteria:

• None

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Behavioral Education and personalized coaching	Behavioral: Education; Weekly education related to behavior change; Behavioral: Personalized coaching; Weekly calls with personalized coaches in behavior modification, nutrition, and physical activity/exercise.; Behavioral: Weekly behavior modification challenges; Weekly challenges to address behavior change

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Behavior change	Participants identify one behavior they want to change and work toward achieving that goal. This will be measured by recording goals and checking in weekly to record progress. We will use a 5-point likert scale to assess how well the participant perceives they are meeting their goal. Behavior change will be assessed qualitatively, relying on the participant to report success or failures to study personnel.	20 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Sleep	Improved sleep determined by Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index questionnaire, which provides a subjective measure of sleep quality and patterns in the form of a validated questionnaire. The tool examines seven areas: subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, the use of sleep-promoting medication, and daytime dysfunction.	20 weeks
Mood	Improved mood determined by Profile of Mood States questionnaire which is a psychological rating scale used to assess transient, distinct moods. It measures six different dimensions of mood swings over a period of time using a five-point scale ranging from "not at all" to "extremely".	20 weeks
Physical Activity	Self-reported time spent participating in physical activity using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, which is a standardized self-report questionnaire which provides and estimate of physical activity and sedentary behavior.	20 weeks
Dietary Intake	Self reported diet intake using 24 hour dietary recalls	20 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jamie Baum, PhD, University of Arkansas

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 12, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 31, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 3, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 12, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): February 15, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): August 26, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 19, 2025
• Last Verified: August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Exercise; Behavior; Nutrition; Physical activity; Diet; Social Distancing
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Motor Activity; Behavior; Socioeconomic Factors; Population Characteristics; Educational Status
• Other Study ID Numbers: DFEND3

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No