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Meals that heal: A randomized controlled trial testing the feasibility of commercial meal delivery as a convenient dietary intervention for depression
Could convenient access to minimally processed meals enhance the effectiveness of dietary interventions for depression? This pilot randomized study, conducted over two weeks, explored this question by assessing the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of using commercial meal delivery services. The research included 31 adults experiencing moderate to moderately severe depressive symptoms.
Participants were divided into two groups after a one-week baseline observation. One group received their meals through a commercial delivery service (n=20), while the second group implemented the provided nutritional guidance themselves (n=11). Dietary quality was measured using Diet ID, and depressive symptoms were measured with the PHQ-8 through both remote surveys and in-person visits at different stages: intake, pre-intervention, and post-intervention.
Overall, the study found high feasibility for both intervention methods, with significant improvements in dietary quality observed across all participants (effect size d=1.93). Notably, those in the meal delivery group experienced substantial reductions in depressive symptoms (effect size d=1.62), in contrast to the nutritional guidance group (effect size d=0.54). However, these differences warrant cautious interpretation due to the pilot study design and limited statistical power.
The analysis also revealed that enhancements in dietary quality were linked with greater reductions in depressive symptoms, accounting for 17% of the variance (semi-partial R2=0.17). These findings suggest that minimally processed dietary interventions can improve dietary quality and mental health, laying the foundation for future large-scale studies to evaluate their long-term efficacy and sustainability. [NPID: depression, dietary quality, processed meals, dietary interventions]
Year: 2026
