Diet, Healthy, Health Behavior
Conditions
Keywords
front-of-package labels, ultra-processed food, food and beverage purchases
Brief summary
Purpose: The overall purpose of this study is to identify the impacts of an ultra-processed (UPF) health warning label and UPF identify warning label compared to a control label (i.e., a barcode). Participants: \ 4,000 US Latino adults of parental age (18-55 years), approximately 50% of whom will have limited English proficiency, recruited from a Latino-focused panel company. Procedures: Participants will be randomly assigned to view food products with one of three label types: health warning labels, identity labels, or barcode control labels. Participants will be asked a series of questions about the products and the label they were assigned.
Detailed description
On the study platform (Qualtrics), participants will be randomly assigned to 1 of 3 arms with equal probability: a UPF health warning label, a UPF identity label, or a barcode control label. Participants will view four products (a fruit-flavored drink, pretzels, a yogurt, and a breakfast cereal) displayed in random order, each with a label displayed on the front of package according to the participants' study arm. Participants will complete a 13-item online survey to assess each product as to a) whether the product is ultra-processed; b) perceptions of healthfulness; c) intentions to purchase the product.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALHealth Warning Label
Message displayed on warning label is: WARNING: Consuming ultra-processed food and drinks can cause weight gain, which increases the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
BEHAVIORALIdentity Warning Label
Message displayed on warning label is: WARNING: Ultra-processed food.
OTHERBarcode Label
Barcode is displayed.
Sponsors
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
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 55 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Identifying as Latino or Hispanic * Ages 18-55 years old * Currently resides in the United States
Exclusion criteria
* Not identifying as Latino or Hispanic * Less than 18 or greater than 55 years old * Not residing in the United States
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Identification of a product as ultra-processed | Immediately after exposure to intervention, assessed during 1-time online study visit. | Correct identification of a product as ultra-processed. Measured with the question, Do you think this product is ultra-processed? Response options are Yes, No, and I'm not sure. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Perceived product healthfulness of ultra-processed products | Immediately after exposure to intervention, assessed during 1-time online study visit. | Measured with the question, How good or bad for your health would it be to consume this product every day? Likert responses are on a 1 to 5 scale, from Very bad (coded as 1) to Very good (coded as 5), with higher scores representing a higher perceived healthfulness. |
| Intentions to purchase ultra-processed products | Immediately after exposure to intervention, assessed during 1-time online study visit. | Measured with the question, How likely would you be to purchase this product in the next week, if it were available? Likert responses are on a 1 to 5 scale, from Not at all likely (coded as 1) to Extremely likely (coded as 5), with higher scores representing a higher intention to purchase ultra-processed products. |
| Perceived message effectiveness | Immediately after exposure to intervention, assessed during 1-time online study visit. | Measured with the question, How much does this message discourage you from wanting to consume an ultra-processed food or drink? Likert responses are on a 1 to 5 scale, from Not at all (coded as 1) to Very much (coded as 5), with higher scores representing a higher perceived message effectiveness. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed