Cardiovascular Diseases, Diet Modification, Nutrition
Conditions
Brief summary
This is an online study that aims to test the effectiveness of Interpretative Nutrition Rating Systems (INRS) such as the Health Star Rating System (HSR or Star System), traffic light system and warning labels (high sodium, saturated fat and sugar) proposed by Health Canada. The study will incorporate the use of a Smartphone application (app), FoodFlip®, to help educate consumers on each INRS prior to their exposure on food packages.
Interventions
OTHERNutrition Rating System - Traffic Light
Behavioural: Nutrition Rating Systems (shown on the online survey and the mobile app) provide consumers with an interpretation of the healthfulness of a food or beverage, by indicating the levels (low=green, moderate=amber, high=red) of sodium, saturated fat and sugar in a product based on modified Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) criteria.
OTHERNutrition Rating System - Health Star
Behavioural: Nutrition Rating Systems (shown on the online survey and the mobile app) provide consumers with an interpretation of the healthfulness of a food or beverage product by indicating the number of stars awarded to a product, from 0.5 to 5 stars, based on modified Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) nutrient profiling criteria.
OTHERNutrition Rating System - Warning Label
Behavioural: Nutrition Rating Systems (shown on the online survey and the mobile app) provide consumers with an interpretation of the healthfulness of a food or beverage product by indicating with a warning label products that are high in sodium, saturated fat and sugar, based on a percent daily value (%DV) greater than 15% for individual products and 30% for combination dishes.
DEVICESmartphone application FoodFlip Device®
This is embedded within each condition to inform and educate consumers about the labelling condition/intervention to which they are randomized. All participants are assigned to an app task to view 20 products and see the 'rating' these products would get according to their condition.
Sponsors
University of Toronto
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* speak English as a primary language * reside in Canada excluding the Northern Territories * are 18 years or over * provide informed consent * do at least some of the household grocery shopping * own a smartphone (version iPhone 3 or later or Android) * are able to complete the survey on a minimum screen size of 9.7 inches.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Comprehension task - ability to identify healthy products (survey measure) | 1 day (assessed immediately after app task and while viewing products with labelling system applied | The participant's ability to identify the most healthy product in a group of 5 products in a task rating 5 products with varying levels of 'healthiness' according to modified FSANZ criteria. Question wording: Please rank these products in terms of healthiness where 1 is themost healthy and 5 is the least healthy cereal |
| Comprehension task - ability to identify unhealthy products (survey measure) | 1 day (assessed immediately after app task and while viewing products with labelling system applied | The participant's ability to identify the least healthy product in a group of products in a group of 5 products in a task rating 5 products with varying levels of 'healthiness' according to modified FSANZ criteria. Question wording: Please rank these products in terms of healthiness where 1 is themost healthy and 5 is the least healthy cereal |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Comprehension task - ability to identify the overall 'healthiness' of a product (survey measure - Likert scale) | 1 day (assessed immediately after app task and while viewing products with labelling system applied | The participant's ability to accurately rate a product as more or less healthy according to the type and amount of nutritional information on the product, using a 7 point Likert scale. Question wording: How healthy is this (product) for you? |
| Hypothetical purchasing of products (survey measure - Likert scale) | 1 day (assessed immediately after app task and while viewing products with labelling system applied | The participant's perceived likelihood of purchasing a product according to the type and amount of nutritional information on the product, using a 7 point Likert scale. Question wording: Assume this product has a cost similar to other (product category). If you were shopping for (product), how likely would you be to purchase this one? |
Countries
Canada
Outcome results
None listed