Food Purchases, Nutrition
Conditions
Brief summary
The purpose of the research is to examine the association between price changes, nutrient profiling, and grocery food purchases among household grocery shoppers.
Detailed description
Participants will be asked to select a week's worth of groceries for their household from a virtual online grocery store. Shoppers will be randomly assigned to one of four conditions (control, nutrient profiling, price change, nutrient profiling and price change).
Interventions
BEHAVIORALNutrient profiling
Nutrient profiling system will be present during shopping session.
BEHAVIORALPrice Changes
Price changes will be present during shopping session.
Sponsors
State University of New York at Buffalo
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
FACTORIAL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
19 Years to 80 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* primary household grocery shopper * at least 19 years old * one or more child (2-18yrs) living full time in the household
Exclusion criteria
* not the primary household grocery shopper * no dietary, medical, or psychopathology conditions that could interfere with the study * under the age 19 * no children (2-18yrs) living full time in the household
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Nutritional Quality of Food Purchases | Participants were followed for one shopping session, an average of 2.5 hours | The Overall Nutrient Quality Index (ONQI) was used to assess nutritional quality of foods purchased. The ONQI is a 1 - 100 scale in which higher numbers indicate higher nutritional quality. Each food is given a score based on a ratio with positive health nutrients in the numerator and detrimental health nutrients in the denominator, based on a proprietary algorithm created by NuVal. The average ONQI score for all the groceries purchases was used as the outcome measure, of ONQI scores on a scale. |
Countries
United States
Participant flow
Recruitment details
Participants were recruited from the WNY community between 2012-2014.
Participants by arm
| Arm | Count |
|---|---|
| Usual Shopping No change in condition. | 196 |
| Nutrient Profiling Nutrient profiling system will be present during shopping session. | 198 |
| Price Change Price changes will be present during shopping session. | 197 |
| Nutrient Profiling and Price Change Nutrient profiling system and price changes will be present during shopping session. | 197 |
| Total | 788 |
Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | Usual Shopping | Nutrient Profiling | Price Change | Nutrient Profiling and Price Change | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, Continuous | 43.1 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 8.6 | 42.5 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 8.8 | 42.4 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 8.2 | 41.6 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 7.8 | 42.4 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 8.4 |
| Body Mass Index (BMI) | 31.0 Kg/m^2 STANDARD_DEVIATION 8 | 30.8 Kg/m^2 STANDARD_DEVIATION 7.9 | 30.9 Kg/m^2 STANDARD_DEVIATION 8.2 | 31.3 Kg/m^2 STANDARD_DEVIATION 8.7 | 31.0 Kg/m^2 STANDARD_DEVIATION 8.2 |
| Ethnicity (NIH/OMB) Hispanic or Latino | 7 Participants | 12 Participants | 8 Participants | 11 Participants | 38 Participants |
| Ethnicity (NIH/OMB) Not Hispanic or Latino | 188 Participants | 185 Participants | 188 Participants | 185 Participants | 746 Participants |
| Ethnicity (NIH/OMB) Unknown or Not Reported | 1 Participants | 1 Participants | 1 Participants | 1 Participants | 4 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) American Indian or Alaska Native | 1 Participants | 1 Participants | 1 Participants | 2 Participants | 5 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Asian | 2 Participants | 5 Participants | 2 Participants | 3 Participants | 12 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Black or African American | 44 Participants | 39 Participants | 47 Participants | 39 Participants | 169 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) More than one race | 9 Participants | 8 Participants | 3 Participants | 5 Participants | 25 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0 Participants | 1 Participants | 0 Participants | 1 Participants | 2 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Unknown or Not Reported | 5 Participants | 4 Participants | 4 Participants | 7 Participants | 20 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) White | 135 Participants | 140 Participants | 140 Participants | 140 Participants | 555 Participants |
| Region of Enrollment United States | 196 participants | 198 participants | 197 participants | 197 participants | 788 participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Female | 196 Participants | 198 Participants | 197 Participants | 197 Participants | 788 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Male | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
Adverse events
| Event type | EG000 affected / at risk | EG001 affected / at risk | EG002 affected / at risk | EG003 affected / at risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| deaths Total, all-cause mortality | — / — | — / — | — / — | — / — |
| other Total, other adverse events | 0 / 196 | 0 / 198 | 0 / 197 | 0 / 197 |
| serious Total, serious adverse events | 0 / 196 | 0 / 198 | 0 / 197 | 0 / 197 |
Outcome results
Primary
Nutritional Quality of Food Purchases
The Overall Nutrient Quality Index (ONQI) was used to assess nutritional quality of foods purchased. The ONQI is a 1 - 100 scale in which higher numbers indicate higher nutritional quality. Each food is given a score based on a ratio with positive health nutrients in the numerator and detrimental health nutrients in the denominator, based on a proprietary algorithm created by NuVal. The average ONQI score for all the groceries purchases was used as the outcome measure, of ONQI scores on a scale.
Time frame: Participants were followed for one shopping session, an average of 2.5 hours
Population: Data was analyzed for 781 participants. Two participants did not understand the study, 2 participants had incorrect price manipulations during their session, 1 participant was ill during the session, 1 participant had her young daughter in the room during the experiment and 1 participant did not have a household to shop for.
| Arm | Measure | Value (LEAST_SQUARES_MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usual Shopping | Nutritional Quality of Food Purchases | 37.62 Average NUVAL Score | Standard Deviation 14.84 |
| Nutrient Profiling | Nutritional Quality of Food Purchases | 41.12 Average NUVAL Score | Standard Deviation 15.06 |
| Price Change | Nutritional Quality of Food Purchases | 39.66 Average NUVAL Score | Standard Deviation 13.3 |
| Nutrient Profiling and Price Change | Nutritional Quality of Food Purchases | 41.01 Average NUVAL Score | Standard Deviation 14.21 |