Randomized Trial of Financial Incentives to Reduce Sugar-sweetened Beverage Purchases by Low-income, Latino Families

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Approximately 15% of the US population is enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and 50% are children. Although the goal is to improve nutritional health, preliminary data suggest that enrollment in SNAP is associated with obesity and metabolic risks and that SNAP reimburses $4 billion annually for sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). This pilot project tests an innovative strategy to reduce purchase of non-nutritive, SSBs by low-income families with children by combining targeted point-of-purchase education with a randomized trial of financial incentives to discourage purchase of unhealthy beverages. The study will take place at a mid-size grocery store that is located in a low-income, Latino community and where 30% of purchases are made with SNAP. Targeted beverage education will be provided to all study subjects with a traffic-light system to identify healthy and unhealthy beverages at the point-of-purchase. Individual beverage purchases will be tracked by electronically stored cash register sales. Supplementary validation of beverage consumption will be assessed by 24 hour dietary recall. Aim 1 is to conduct a randomized controlled trial to compare purchase and consumption of SSBs by families assigned to a financial incentive to reduce purchase of SSBs with families assigned to control (no incentives). Aim 2 is to compare the purchase of SSBs by families in both arms during the study period when they are exposed to the traffic-light system to a baseline period prior to traffic-light education. Results of this project will provide pilot data for larger scale interventions to promote healthy choices among low-income families.

Official Title
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Randomized Trial of Financial Incentives to Reduce Sugar-sweetened Beverage Purchases by Low-income, Latino Families

Conditions
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Obesity Prevention

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Targeted beverage education and financial incentives
* Behavioral: Traffic-light labeling of all beverages in store


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: purchase >75% of groceries at targeted supermarket (regular customer) at least one child <= 18 years old living at home Exclusion Criteria: not fluent in Spanish or English no address or phone for contact

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Targeted beverage education and financial incentives<br>Study subjects receive monthly letters with beverage education and financial incentives for not purchasing sugar-sweetened beverages | Behavioral: Targeted beverage education and financial incentives<br> <br> Behavioral: Traffic-light labeling of all beverages in store<br>* All beverages in the supermarket will be labeled as red, yellow, or green<br>|
| Sham Comparator: Control<br>Monthly letters with generic nutrition information only | Behavioral: Traffic-light labeling of all beverages in store<br>* All beverages in the supermarket will be labeled as red, yellow, or green<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Purchase of sugar-sweetened beverages |  | 4 months | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages |  | 4 months | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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sugar-sweetened beverages, traffic-light labels, financial incentives, low-income community, obesity prevention