Obesity
Conditions
Brief summary
Purpose: To better understand the impact of different front-of-package labels (FOPLs) on consumer purchasing intentions and ability to identify unhealthy foods. Participants: \ 8,000 Colombians, recruited from Offerwise, that are 18 years or older. Procedures (methods): Participants will be randomly assigned to view images of food and drink products with either a nutrient warning label, Guideline Daily Amount label, Nutriscore label, or no-label control. They will be asked a series of questions about the products and the labels (excluding control group) on them. Questions will also include standard demographic and health related variables.
Detailed description
Participants will be recruited from Offerwise (an online panel research company). Following online consent, participants will be randomly assigned to view different labels (explained below) on food and drink packaging. Participants will answer self-reported responses to the content (e.g., elaboration, beliefs, perceived healthfulness). After being randomized to one of the four groups and answering questions (e.g. which product is healthier, which product would you buy), the participant will see all three labels and select which is most dissuading from consuming a product high in a nutrient. At the end, the participant will answer demographic questions. Participants will be randomized to see either a no-label control or 1 of 3 nutrient labels. The participants will see 5 types of products with the labels (fruit drinks, yogurt, sliced bread, cookies, and breakfast cereal). Nutrient labels: 1. Guideline Daily Amount label 2. Nutriscore label 3. Adapted Peruvian nutrient warning label (high in sugar, high in saturated fat, high in salt/sodium)
Interventions
OTHERControl
Participants will be shown images of juice, bread, yogurt, cookies, and cereal without any added front-of-package labels.
OTHERNutriscore Label
A front-of-package Nutriscore label will be applied to images of juice, bread, yogurt, cookies, and cereal. This label applies a score of A, B, C, D, or E based on the product's nutrition profile.
A front-of-package octagonal nutrient label will be applied to images of juice, bread, yogurt, cookies, and cereal. The label text informs consumers if a product is high in sugar, saturated fat, or salt/sodium. These labels were developed by the Peruvian government and adapted by investigators.
A front-of-package Guideline Daily Amount label will be applied to images of juice, bread, yogurt, cookies, and cereal. The label shows the amount and percent of daily value of calories, total fat, saturated fat, sugar, and sodium in one serving of a product.
Sponsors
The Bloomberg Family Foundation, Inc.
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 64 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* 18-64 years old * Resident of Colombia * Offerwise panel member (recruitment platform)
Exclusion criteria
* \<18 years old or \>64 years old * Not a resident of Colombia
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Selection of Product Higher in Sugar | During ~15 minute online survey | Percentage of participants who select the less healthy product in a set of two products as the product the consumer most wants to buy. |
| Correct Identification of the Product Higher in Sugar | During ~15 minute online survey | Percentage of participants who correctly select the product higher in sugar (between two products) |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Identify Less Healthy Product | During ~15 minute online survey | Percentage of participants that correctly identify the less healthy product when selecting between two products. |
| Perceived Message Effectiveness | During ~15 minute online survey | Perceived message effectiveness of the study labels. Response options are on a 1 to 5 scale, with lower scores representing a higher amount of the construct. Perceived message effectiveness is measured using 3 items adapted from Baig et al. (2018): concern, unpleasantness, and discouragement. Responses to the 3 items will be averaged to create a perceived message effectiveness score. Question: How much does this message... * make you concerned about the health effect of consuming an unhealthy product? * discourage you from wanting to eat an unhealthy product? * make eating an unhealthy product seem unpleasant to you? Only asked of the label arms, not control. |
| Most Discouraging Label | During ~15 minute online survey | Percentage of participants selecting each nutrient label as most discouraging them from consuming the product. |
| Ability to Identify Product as Having Excess of Sugar/Saturated Fat/Sodium | During ~15 minute online survey | Percentage of participants who correctly identify that the product contains excess sugar, saturated fat, or sodium. |
| Purchase Likelihood | During ~15 minute online survey | Likelihood that participants would purchase this product in the next week if it were available. Response options are on a 1 to 5 scale, with lower scores representing a higher amount of the construct |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed