The Effectiveness of the Healthy Eating Plate on Appetite, Balanced Diet, and Dining Enjoyment Among Community-Dwelling Elderly
The Effectiveness of the Healthy Eating Plate on Appetite, Balanced Diet, and Dining Enjoyment Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults
This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a healthy eating plate intervention on appetite, balanced dietary intake, and dining enjoyment among community-dwelling older adults.
A quasi-experimental study was conducted among adults aged 65 years and older attending community-based long-term care stations in Chiayi, Taiwan. Participants were assigned to either an intervention group or a control group according to the participating sites.
The intervention group used a healthy eating plate designed according to the Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare's healthy eating guidelines during communal lunches at the community care stations, five days per week. The control group continued their usual meals and received a one-time educational session on healthy eating plate principles.
The study evaluated changes in appetite, balanced dietary intake, and dining enjoyment to examine the effects of the healthy eating plate intervention on dietary behaviors and dining experiences among community-dwelling older adults.
Study Overview
Status
Intervention / Treatment
Detailed Description
The healthy eating plate intervention was designed based on the dietary principles promoted by the Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare. The plate translates healthy eating proportions into a tangible, practical tool that helps older adults apply balanced dietary principles during meals.
Participants in both groups received a one-time educational session introducing the principles of the healthy eating plate. In addition, participants in the intervention group used the healthy eating plate during communal lunches at community-based long-term care stations, five days per week. The plate served as a practical tool to guide food selection and portion distribution during meals. Participants in the control group continued their usual meal practices without using the healthy eating plate.
The intervention was implemented in community care settings to examine how incorporating a tangible dietary guide into daily meal practices may influence older adults' eating behaviors and dining experiences. Appetite, dietary intake, and dining enjoyment were assessed.
Study Type
Enrollment (Actual)
Phase
- Not Applicable
Contacts and Locations
Study Locations
-
-
Taiwan
-
Chiayi City, Taiwan, Taiwan, 600
- Xindian CDA; Xingren CDA; Qing'an CDA; All-Age Learning Association-Xincuo; Guohua Xingfu Hile Welfare Association; All-Age Learning Association-Chiayi Medical; All-Age Learning Association-Dingliao; Fushou CDA
-
-
Participation Criteria
Eligibility Criteria
Ages Eligible for Study
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Genders Eligible for Study
Description
Inclusion Criteria:
- Adults aged 65 years or older attending Level C community-based long-term -care stations in Chiayi County or Chiayi City.
- Able to communicate and engage in conversation in Mandarin or Taiwanese.
- Barthel Index score of 80 or higher.
- Able to eat independently and consume a regular or soft diet.
- Willing to sign the informed consent form and participate in the study.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Receiving enteral feeding through a nasogastric tube or gastrostomy.
- Requiring minced or chopped diets.
- Having dysphagia.
- Frequently experiencing coughing or choking during or after meals.
- Being bedridden.
- Having gastrointestinal dysfunction, such as diarrhea or gastrointestinal bleeding.
Study Plan
How is the study designed?
Design Details
- Primary Purpose: Treatment
- Allocation: Non-Randomized
- Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
- Masking: None (Open Label)
Arms and Interventions
Participant Group / Arm |
Intervention / Treatment |
|---|---|
|
Experimental: Healthy Eating Plate Intervention Group
Participants received a one-time educational session on healthy eating plate principles. In addition, they used a physical healthy eating plate during communal lunches at community-based long-term care stations, five days per week, to guide food selection and portion distribution according to balanced dietary principles. |
The intervention involved the use of a physical healthy eating plate designed according to the dietary principles promoted by the Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare. The plate was designed to represent recommended food group proportions and serve as a practical tool for guiding food selection and portion distribution during meals. Participants in the intervention group used the plate during communal lunches at community-based long-term care stations, five days per week, throughout the approximately two-month intervention period. Both the intervention and control groups received a one-time educational session on healthy eating plate principles; however, only the intervention group used the physical healthy eating plate during meals. |
|
No Intervention: Control Group
Participants continued their usual meal practices without using the physical healthy eating plate. Participants received a one-time educational session on healthy eating plate principles, as did those in the intervention group. |
What is the study measuring?
Primary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
|
Appetite
Time Frame: Baseline to the end of the 2-month intervention period
|
Food intake was measured and recorded using a digital scale during communal lunches five days per week to assess changes in appetite over the study period. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to analyze changes over time and differences between the intervention and control groups. |
Baseline to the end of the 2-month intervention period
|
|
Balanced Diet
Time Frame: Baseline and at the end of the 2-month intervention period
|
Balanced dietary intake was assessed using a six-item Healthy Eating Plate questionnaire. Each item was scored as yes or no, with higher total scores indicating better adherence to balanced dietary principles. Scores were compared between baseline and post-intervention assessments. |
Baseline and at the end of the 2-month intervention period
|
|
Dining Enjoyment
Time Frame: Baseline and at the end of the 2-month intervention period
|
Dining enjoyment was assessed using a 12-item Likert-scale questionnaire. Higher total scores indicated greater dining enjoyment. Scores were compared between baseline and post-intervention assessments. |
Baseline and at the end of the 2-month intervention period
|
Collaborators and Investigators
Study record dates
Study Major Dates
Study Start (Actual)
Primary Completion (Actual)
Study Completion (Actual)
Study Registration Dates
First Submitted
First Submitted That Met QC Criteria
First Posted (Actual)
Study Record Updates
Last Update Posted (Actual)
Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria
Last Verified
More Information
Terms related to this study
Other Study ID Numbers
- RVHCY113011
- RVHCY113011 (Other Grant/Funding Number: Chiayi Branch, Taichung Veterans General Hospital)
Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)
Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?
IPD Plan Description
Individual participant data will not be shared because of participant privacy and confidentiality considerations. The data will be used solely for the purposes of this study and managed by the research team in accordance with the approved research ethics requirements.
Drug and device information, study documents
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product
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.