SWAP-MEAT With Athletes for MC-URC: Three Diets on Athletic Performance

February 14, 2024 updated by: Christopher Gardner, Stanford University

SWAP-MEAT (Study With Appetizing Plant-Food, Meat Eating Alternatives Trial) Athlete for MC-URC (Menus of Change University Research Collaborative): Three Diets on Athletic Performance

This study aims to investigate the impact of two plant-based diets-whole food plant-based (WFPB) and plant-based meat alternatives (PBMA)-vs. an omnivorous diet (Animal) on endurance and muscular strength in recreational athletes.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The SWAP-MEAT study compared the impact of consuming diets containing animal meat (primarily beef and pork) vs. plant-based alternative meats (Beyond Meat products) on health risk factors, cardiometabolic risk factors, and the gut microbiome in generally healthy adults. The SWAP-MEAT Athlete pilot study explored the impact of these diets on athletic performance instead of health biomarkers and cardiovascular disease.

The purpose of this study is to replicate the pilot study with the exception of using undergraduate students who have access to Stanford dining halls, rather than graduate students who have to buy and prepare their own food. It will be a 2x4-6 week randomized crossover trial that contains two arms: animal meat and plant-based alternative meat. Generally healthy recreational athletes will be recruited and complete athletic performance field tests at the end of each diet in order to assess athletic performance outcomes. From the SWAP-MEAT: Athlete pilot study, the investigators can attest to the feasibility of the trial and have justification for conducting this larger study.

This study will aim to focus on BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) undergraduate students. By doing so, the investigators can gain a better understanding of the potential barriers and challenges to their adoption in diverse populations, for example, understanding of how cultural differences influence dietary choices and preconceptions about plant-based diets and animal protein alternatives. This study aims to address these limitations and provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of plant-based diets for recreational athletes, as well as potential barriers and challenges to their adoption in diverse populations.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

120

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United Kingdom
    • Berkshire
      • Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom, RG6 6AH
  • United States
    • California
      • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90095
      • Stanford, California, United States, 94305
    • New Jersey
      • New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States, 08901
    • Tennessee
    • Texas
      • Denton, Texas, United States, 76205

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Generally healthy omnivorous adults between 18 and 35 years of age who report typically consuming at least 1 serving of meat per day and are willing to consume ~2 servings per day of animal meat, plant-based meat alternatives, and whole-food plant proteins.
  • Participants will have been consistent recreational runners or weightlifters (3-4 times per week) for at least the prior 1 year, and currently run or lift 3-4 times per week.
  • Runners will engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week. All participants will have habitually consumed an omnivorous diet for at least months.
  • Participants will have self-reported good health and BMI 18.5-30.0.
  • Participants must be able to commit to running or resistance training at least 3-4 times per week for the duration of the study.
  • Participants will be on a Stanford meal plan which allows them access to the nine dining halls on the Stanford campus.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals who have participated in any restrictive diet within the last month, have any known nutrient intolerances, have orthopedic limitations, are participating in any other physical activity or diet study;
  • Individuals consuming any performance-enhancing drugs or medications known to interfere with athletic performance;
  • Individuals who have a chronic disease or eating disorder, are currently pregnant or intend to become pregnant in the next three months, or have an intent to compete in any physical activity competition within the next 3 months.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Animal
2 servings/day of traditional meat products (beef burger, pork, chicken)
Behavioral: Diet order: PBMA, Animal
Participants will follow the PBMA, and Animal diets (in this order) for 4-6 weeks each.
Behavioral: Diet order: Animal, PBMA
Participants will follow the Animal, and PBMA diets (in this order) for 4-6 weeks each.
Experimental: Plant-Based Meat Alternatives (PBMA)
Up to 2 servings per day of plant-based meat alternatives (Beyond Beef, Impossible Burger, Gardein Chick'n) OR as many plant-based meat alternative servings as available per day in the dining halls.
Behavioral: Diet order: PBMA, Animal
Participants will follow the PBMA, and Animal diets (in this order) for 4-6 weeks each.
Behavioral: Diet order: Animal, PBMA
Participants will follow the Animal, and PBMA diets (in this order) for 4-6 weeks each.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Cooper 12-Minute Timed Run Test (Runners)
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 4 or Week 6
Change from baseline in distance covered on a 12-minute timed run after each diet phase
Baseline, Week 4 or Week 6
Composite Machine Strength Index (Resistance Trainers)
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 4 or Week 6
Change from baseline in composite machine strength index (sum of 3-rep max chest press, leg press, biceps curls, and lat pull-down) after each diet phase
Baseline, Week 4 or Week 6

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Dietary intake and adherence
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 4 or Week 6
Nutrient composition of each diet and adherence to diet in servings of protein source consumed per week, via weekly dietary logs.
Baseline, Week 4 or Week 6
Diet satisfaction
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 4 or Week 6
Score on Food Acceptability Questionnaire, measuring taste, appeal, and overall diet satisfaction, after each diet. We used the "Food Acceptability Questionnaire", with a minimum value of 1 and a maximum value of 7. A higher score indicates better food acceptability.
Baseline, Week 4 or Week 6

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Stanford University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Christopher D Gardner, PhD, Stanford University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

October 4, 2023

Primary Completion (Estimated)

May 1, 2024

Study Completion (Estimated)

May 1, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 23, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 23, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

August 28, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

February 15, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 14, 2024

Last Verified

February 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 69487

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

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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