ERIC Number: EJ1197505
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Dec
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0017-8969
EISSN: N/A
Feasibility of Engaging College Students in a 10-Day Plant-Based Diet
Valdez, Elizabeth Salerno; Pottinger, Heidi; Urbon-Bonine, Angela; Duncan, Burris
Health Education Journal, v77 n8 p952-963 Dec 2018
Objective: This study sought to determine the feasibility of (a) engaging college students in experiential learning through a 10-day whole foods plant-based diet intervention, (b) bringing pertinence to the course topics that had an emphasis on chronic conditions and (c) understanding how the intervention influenced students' perceptions and behaviours. Design: Quasi-experimental design. Biomarkers, dietary perceptions and behaviours were collected at baseline and 11-day post-intervention. Setting: The study was implemented in the context of an undergraduate/graduate public health course. Method: We assessed the feasibility of the intervention using an acceptability focus, including participant retention in the intervention, and participant self-reported experience with the plant-based diet. We also utilised an implementation research focus, concerning the extent, likelihood and manner in which an intervention can be fully implemented as planned and proposed. Results: The intervention was determined to be feasible. Participants learned that their diet can affect multiple health conditions and all changed their diet in some way or another as a result. Of the 10 participants, mean change in total cholesterol was -26 mg/dL, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol was -6.1 mg/dL and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol was -21.6 mg/dL, all with p values <0.05. Conclusion: Findings suggest that through experiential learning, students will consider a whole food plant-based diet and/or make some personal lifestyle changes as a result.
Descriptors: Food, Intervention, Dietetics, Experiential Learning, Chronic Illness, Student Attitudes, Health Behavior, Public Health, Graduate Students, Undergraduate Students, Correlation, Eating Habits, Biochemistry, Physiology, Diagnostic Tests, Life Style, Behavior Change
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A