Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28158239›Full record

Trial reportPloS one2017

Let them eat fruit! The effect of fruit and vegetable consumption on psychological well-being in young adults: A randomized controlled trial.

Tamlin S Conner, Kate L Brookie, Anitra C Carr, Louise A Mainvil, Margreet C M Vissers

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 84 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
84citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
–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

84 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  6. Positive affect and medication adherence in chronic conditions: A systematic review.Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association · 2019
    Pooled it
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  15. Observational
  16. Teaching Nutrition in Psychiatric Practice: Implementation of a Curriculum for Psychiatry Residents.Academic psychiatry : the journal of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training and the Association for Academic Psychiatry · 2026
    Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. Article

24 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

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.

Tamlin S ConnerDepartment of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
Kate L BrookieDepartment of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3726-6139
Anitra C CarrCentre for Free Radical Research, Department of Pathology, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Louise A MainvilDepartment of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
Margreet C M VissersCentre for Free Radical Research, Department of Pathology, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This study tested the psychological benefits of a 14-day preregistered clinical intervention to increase fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption in 171 low-FV-consuming young adults (67% female, aged 18-25). Participants were randomly assigned into a diet-as-usual control condition, an ecological momentary intervention (EMI) condition involving text message reminders to increase their FV consumption plus a voucher to purchase FV, or a fruit and vegetable intervention (FVI) condition in which participants were given two additional daily servings of fresh FV to consume on top of their normal diet. Self-report outcome measures were depressive symptoms and anxiety measured pre- and post-intervention, and daily negative and positive mood, vitality, flourishing, and flourishing behaviors (curiosity, creativity, motivation) assessed nightly using a smartphone survey. Vitamin C and carotenoids were measured from blood samples pre- and post-intervention, and psychological expectancies about the benefits of FV were measured post-intervention to test as mediators of psychological change. Only participants in the FVI condition showed improvements to their psychological well-being with increases in vitality, flourishing, and motivation across the 14-days relative to the other groups. No changes were found for depressive symptoms, anxiety, or mood. Intervention benefits were not mediated by vitamin C, carotenoids, or psychological expectancies. We conclude that providing young adults with high-quality FV, rather than reminding them to eat more FV (with a voucher to purchase FV), resulted in significant short-term improvements to their psychological well-being. These results provide initial proof-of-concept that giving young adults fresh fruit and vegetables to eat can have psychological benefits even over a brief period of time.

trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12615000183583.

Indexed as

Feeding BehaviorFruitMental HealthPublic Health SurveillanceVegetablesAdolescentAdultAffectAnxietyDepressionFemaleHealth BehaviorHumansMaleNew ZealandOutcome Assessment, Health Care

Identifiers

PMID28158239
PMCPMC5291486

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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 OpenQuestion graph.