Frequently asked questions

Am I eligible to participate in the trial?

If you are aged between 18 and 60 years old, live in a bigger body BMI ≥30kg/m2; waist circumference ≥102cm in men and ≥88cm in women) and reside in the Perth Metropolitan area you may be eligible. We encourage you to complete the expression of interest form by clicking on the link above. An email will then be sent to you to complete a few pre-screening questions to confirm your suitability for health screening followed by the study information sheet.

If I choose participate in the trial, what activities will I be involved in?

• You will attend up to four appointments lasting about 2 hours at the Harry Perkins Institute on the QEII Campus and one telephone appointment over a period of seven weeks.

• At the first appointment, the study doctor will discuss what the study involves and you will have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have before proceeding with a thorough health check-up.
• If you are suitable to continue to the next stage of the study, you will be given a request form to take to your local pathology clinic the next morning to have a fasting blood test to check your general health.
• A video appointment will be scheduled one week after your first visit to confirm your eligibility and whether you would like to take part in the study.
• You will be ask to self-collect urine, stool and nasal rinse samples at home on seven different occasions throughout the trial.
• At the clinic appointments, you will have blood tests, complete some questionnaires, and participate in an interview with a qualified dietitian
• At the end of the study we will send you a participant satisfaction survey to complete. 

That’s it!

What are the study assessments?

On-line questionnaires will ask you about potential exposure to plastic chemicals through diet, lifestyle, and occupation.

A qualified dietitian will interview you about your diet and food preparation practices.

You will be asked to self-collect urine, stool, and nasal washing samples at home using the kits we provide you.

We will take blood samples to measure markers of inflammation, and to assess markers if your cardiometabolic health.

Will I have access to my individual results?

We will provide you with a hard copy of results of your health screening blood tests at your second visit.

You will not receive results of the research tests individually because it is not known what the clinical importance of the results are to individuals until they have been analysed within a larger group of people.

The results of the study will be in the public domain and information on how to access the reports and manuscripts will be posted on the study website.

How do I get to my booked clinic appointment?

We are located at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research on the QEII Campus at 6 Verdun Street, Nedlands WA 6009. There is paid public parking available on site and the Institute is easy to get to with public transport.

Travel and parking instructions for participants

I don’t live within the Perth Metro region, am I still able to participate?

At this stage, the study is confined to the Metropolitan area and surrounds.

Who is funding the trial?

The Minderoo Foundation has awarded a research grant to the University of Western Australia.

Find out more about the Foundation's Plastics initiative and human health focus.

Is there any reimbursement for my time and travel costs?

You will receive $20 to cover the cost of parking at each visit to clinic. You will be given a $50 gift voucher after the video appointment, even if you are not eligible to move onto the next stage of the study.

If you are recruited into the intervention, you will receive a $50.00 gift voucher when you attend the clinic at Visit 2 and Visit 3. This will be followed by a $300 gift voucher at the final visit to thank you for your participation.

All participants will be offered a free consultation with an Accredited Practicing Dietitian at the end of the trial in addition to the reimbursement.

How long does the trial last?

Your participation in the trial will be over a period of seven weeks. 

Further reading

• The role of endocrine-disrupting phthalates and bisphenols in cardiometabolic disease: the evidence is mounting
• Buy-now-pay-later: Hazards to human and planetary health from plastics production, use and waste
• Assessing the contribution of plastic-associated obesogenic compounds to cardiometabolic diseases
• Plastics in human diets: development and evaluation of the 24-h Dietary Recall — Plastic Exposure and the Dietary Plastics Score