Food for Thought: Inside the CoDiet Clinical Trial

CoDiet is an ambitious interdisciplinary research project tackling diet‑related diseases through cutting‑edge diet‑monitoring technologies and personalised nutrition. Now in its third year, the project brings together 17 partners across 10 countries to better understand how what we eat influences the development of non‑communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.

A major milestone of the four‑year initiative is now underway: the CoDiet clinical trial. In recent months, teams across Europe have been actively recruiting participants for a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to gain a clearer picture of people’s eating habits.

What is Horizon Europe?

Horizon Europe is the world’s largest research and innovation programme, running from 2021 to 2027 with a budget of more than £80 billion. Its mission is to drive scientific excellence, boost economic growth, create jobs, and address major global challenges, including climate change, pandemics, and digital transformation.

CoDiet successfully received a €7.3 million grant from the European Commission and UKRI to investigate how diet influences the risk of developing NCDs.

Why Run a Clinical Trial?

Clinical trials are a type of research that studies new tests and treatments and evaluates their effects on human health outcomes. People volunteer to take part in clinical trials to test medical interventions including drugs, cells and other biological products, surgical procedures, radiological procedures, devices, behavioural treatments and preventive care.

Clinical trials are carefully designed, reviewed and completed, and need to be approved before they can start. People of all ages can take part in clinical trials, including children.[1]

What Do Participants Have To Do?

In CoDiet’s case, researchers began by asking volunteers to wear a small camera and an activity‑tracking watch, and to log everything they ate in an online food diary for five days. On the sixth day, each volunteer attends an in‑person study visit, where they provide blood, stool and urine samples, have their body composition and blood pressure measured, and answer questions about their background and food preferences.

Participants then start a 12‑week programme using the CoDiet smartphone app. The app sends short messages every other day with tips on how to improve their diet. Volunteers rate each message, including its tone and frequency, and the app may adjust the style of future messages based on this feedback. They are free to follow or ignore the advice as they choose.

All of this information helps researchers build a detailed picture of dietary habits, health markers and uptake of personalised nutrition advice.

How participants are required to wear the camera whilst recording what they are eating and drinking

Who Is Eligible to Participate?

People who meet the following criteria may be eligible to participate in the CoDiet study:

  • Age 18-65 years old BMI greater or equal than 25 kg/m² (Asian ethnicity: BMI greater or equal than 23 kg/m²)
  • Waist circumference greater or equal than 102cm in males and greater or equal than 88cm in females (Asian ethnicity: ≥90 cm in males ≥80 cm in females)
  • Not diagnosed with any chronic conditions

How Is Recruitment Going?

The trial is running in London (UK), Cork (Ireland), Valencia (Spain), and Thessaloniki (Greece), with a target of 420 participants.

Ireland

The Irish team (Atlantia Clinical Trials) has made strong progress.

  • 14 participants enrolled and progressing through the intervention phase
  • Additional candidates are currently being screened to reach the target of 37
United Kingdom

The team in London (Imperial College London) is advancing strongly.

  • 40 participants enrolled and active
  • 25 screening appointments already booked, with more expected
Greece

The Thessaloniki site (BIOMIC_AUTh) is seeing rapid interest.

  • 27 individuals screened in the past 10 days
  • 13 already scheduled for Screening Visit and Visit 1 by 12 June
  • A further 13–15 individuals are expected to be screened shortly, with potential enrolment by early August
Spain

The team in Valencia (University of Valencia) has strong momentum.

  • 52 volunteers have completed Visit 1
  • 30 are currently in the intervention phase and expected to finish in July
  • 12 more have completed screening, with Visit 1 planned in the coming weeks

Early feedback from a participant in Greece suggests the personalised advice may already be influencing habits:

“I have changed some aspects of my diet; for example, my koulouri is now wholegrain, as suggested. By checking in the morning, I remembered to buy fruit along with my other groceries. The advice is clear and encouraging.’

Map showing the partners involved in CoDiet

Map of countries part of CoDiet – can you find the 4 countries part of the clinical trial?

 

Want to Get Involved?

To learn more about the CoDiet clinical trial, including how to participate at each study location, visit the CoDiet Get Involved page.

[1] https://www.who.int/health-topics/clinical-trials

 

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