Evidence mapPaperPMID 40369513Full record

Trial reportNutrition journal2025

Design and evaluation of the "Feel Good" feasibility study - a multi-component fruit and vegetable intervention in children measuring cognitive and mental health outcomes.

Nicola A Gillies, Jeanette P Rapson, Amy L Lovell, Karen E Waldie, Clare R Wall

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Nutrition journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Nicola A GilliesDepartment of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. n.gillies@auckland.ac.nz.
Jeanette P RapsonDepartment of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Amy L LovellDepartment of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Karen E WaldieSchool of Psychology, Faculty of Science, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Clare R WallDepartment of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundObservational evidence suggests that increasing fruit and vegetable (FV) intake has the potential to improve children's cognitive function and mental well-being, but this has not yet been empirically tested in intervention research. This study assessed the feasibility and acceptability of a multi-component FV intervention which measures mental and cognitive health outcomes in children.

methodsThe 'Feel Good Study' was a cluster-randomised controlled feasibility study conducted in four New Zealand primary schools, with equal allocation of schools to intervention and wait-list control arms. The intervention group received a 10-week FV programme informed by behavioural theory, including school- and home-based components designed to improve FV availability and acceptance. The wait-list control group received a simplified 5-week version of the intervention. Dietary, cognitive, and mental health outcomes were completed by children and parents/caregivers at the start and end of the 10-week study period. Primary outcomes of this feasibility study were recruitment, retention, and data collection rates. Process evaluation captured measures of intervention fidelity and dose, acceptability, reach, and barriers or facilitators to implementation.

resultsSeventy children were recruited (79% of target recruitment rate), with an average retention rate of 89%. Diet, cognitive, and mental health data collection procedures were feasible, with all data valid for analysis except for 6% of children's dietary questionnaires. All intervention components were delivered (100% dose delivered), with high levels of fidelity (82% - 100% of components implemented as planned). All teachers and parents strongly agreed that they would recommend other schools/families take part in the study, indicating high levels of acceptability. Process evaluation revealed areas for refinement including more cohesive connections between school- and home-based intervention components, strengthening or adding new intervention components, and simplifying enrolment procedures with longer recruitment periods.

conclusionHaving satisfied key feasibility and acceptance measures in the Feel Good Study, we recommend intervention refinement and progression to a definitive trial where the efficacy of increased FV intake for mental health and cognitive function can be tested in children for the first time.

trial registrationThe trial protocol was prospectively registered with the Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12623000533695) on 2 May 2023, https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=385829&isReview=true .

Indexed as

CognitionDietFruitMental HealthVegetablesChildFeasibility StudiesFemaleHumansMaleNew ZealandSchoolsBehaviourBehaviour changeChildrenCognitionExecutive functioningFlanker taskFruitMental healthRandomised controlled trialVegetables

Identifiers

PMID40369513
PMCPMC12076836

What Socratic holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.