Promoting sustainable food choices through the Ta'am Mustadam pilot intervention at UAE university canteen: study protocol

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) face big challenges related to human health and environmental sustainability. Sustainable food choices aim to promote optimal health while minimizing environmental impact. Till this date, there is a lack of evidence on previous interventions aimed at encouraging such behaviors among young adults in the Middle East. The primary objectives of this study are to develop the Ta'am Mustadam intervention aimed at promoting sustainable food choices and to assess its impact on food choice motives (FCMs). The secondary objectives include evaluating its effect on knowledge, intentions, practices, and self-reported behaviors toward sustainable food choices. Additionally, the study seeks to assess the effectiveness of this pilot intervention in a real-world setting. The Ta'am Mustadam intervention will be designed using the behavior change wheel (BCW) framework and behavior change techniques (BCTs). The intervention will consist of sending brief educational messages, tips and video recipes through WhatsApp group, offering activities/challenges, and restructuring the canteen's environment. The intervention will be implemented over a period of 6 weeks among a group of university students from the College of Medicine and Health Science at the UAE University. Three food categories will be targeted: fruits and vegetables, red and processed meat, and plant-based foods (e.g., legumes & nuts). Participants will be evaluated using validated questionnaires at 3 time-points: pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 4-week follow-up. Measurements will include FCMs, knowledge, intentions, practices and self-reported behaviors toward sustainable diets, and dietary intake. Sociodemographic and self-reported anthropometric data will also be collected. The Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) model will guide the evaluation of this intervention. An evaluation questionnaire will be used to collect opinions from participants and the canteen's customers. Moreover, the canteen's manager will be interviewed post-intervention to assess implementation and maintenance of the intervention. Data collection will start in September 2025 and is expected to be completed by the end of the year 2025. To our knowledge, this is among the first documented interventions aimed at promoting sustainable food choices among young adults in the Middle East. The study will assess the feasibility of the intervention and generate preliminary evidence to inform the design of future large-scale initiatives. Trial registration: NCT07042412 registered June 27, 2025.