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You Are What You Eat: Food as a Risk Factor and a Treatment for Depression
Sponsor: University of Michigan
Summary
This study experimentally investigates 1) whether ultra processed food (UPF) intake contributes to depression by increasing low mood and poor sleep due to blood glucose fluctuations (which then increases the desire to consume more UPFs) and 2) to investigate the effectiveness of a 2-week meal-kit intervention that provides convenient and tasty minimally processed foods (MPF) to reduce depression. The following aims and hypotheses are tested: Aim 1: To investigate whether UPF intake and low mood contribute to each other in a cyclical fashion through the mechanisms of blood glucose fluctuations and disrupted sleep in individuals with moderate-to-severe depression. H1: It is hypothesized that UPF intake and high blood glucose will be associated with low mood in individuals with depression. Aim 2: To establish an industry partnership to investigate whether commercially available meal kit delivery reduces symptoms of depression in individuals with moderate-to-severe depression relative to a nutrition education control condition. H2: Meal kit delivery will lead to reductions in depression symptoms and daily reductions in low mood relative to the control condition (nutrition guidance only).
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - Any
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
47
Start Date
2023-12-09
Completion Date
2025-01-22
Last Updated
2026-07-20
Healthy Volunteers
No
Conditions
Interventions
Low UPF Meals (Study Provided)
Meals provided through delivery service
Low UPF Nutritional Guidance
Self-guided instructions from study team.
Low UPF Snacks (Study Provided)
Low UPF snacks provided to participant
Locations (1)
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States