Diet, Food Labeling, Health Behavior, Obesity
Conditions
Keywords
Public policy, Food choice, Nutrition labeling, Fat tax, Vegetable subsidy, Behavioral economics, Health behavior
Brief summary
The investigators hypothesize that monetary incentives and messaging, such as making nutritious foods relatively less expensive than less nutritious foods and framing the price difference in a positive or negative way, will influence purchasing behavior of households.
Detailed description
In this study, 239 loyalty card shoppers were recruited at Hannaford grocery stores to participate in a study in which a 10% price difference between nutritious and less nutritious foods was introduced. and then framed as a subsidy, tax, or a combination of a tax and subsidy. To determine whether or not the framing of the price difference influenced purchasing behavior, the difference was framed as a subsidy on nutritious foods, a tax on less nutritious foods, and a combination of a tax and subsidy on less nutritious and nutritious foods, respectively. The purpose of this study was to examine the general impact of this price difference on purchases of nutritious and less nutritious foods, and whether or not the framing of the price difference had a differential effect on behavior.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALSubsidy
Frame the price difference as a 10% subsidy on nutritious food items.
BEHAVIORALTax
Frame the price difference as a 10% tax on less nutritious food items.
BEHAVIORALTax and subsidy
Frame the price difference as a 5% tax on less nutritious food items and a 5% subsidy on nutritious food items, creating a 10% relative price difference between the types of foods.
Sponsors
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Ohio State University
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Cornell University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
FACTORIAL
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 70 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Loyalty card shoppers at Hannaford grocery stores
Exclusion criteria
* No children in household * Less than 75% of food purchases made at Hannaford grocery stores
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in expenditures on nutritious and less nutritious foods | 8 months | Item level transaction data were collected for each participant between mid-July 2010 and mid-March 2011. These data included expenditures on all items purchased in the store. Average weekly expenditures were generated and reported in Aug 2011. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in quantities purchased of nutritious and less nutritious foods | 8 months | Item level transaction data were collected for each participant between mid-July 2010 and mid-March 2011. These data included quantities of all items purchased in the store. Average weekly quantities purchased were generated and reported in Aug 2011. |
| Change in expenditures on nutritious and less nutritious foods in specific food categories. | 8 months | Item level transaction data were collected for each participant between mid-July 2010 and mid-March 2011. These data included expenditures on all items purchased in the store, as well as the specific product type. With this information, product groupings can be created, such as for dairy, candy, and fresh produce. Average weekly expenditures for these groupings were generated and reported in July 2012. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed