Clinical trial NCT05079477: Online Study of the Effects of Sugary Drink Warning Labels on Consumption
Official title: Communicating the Health Risks of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages: A Randomized-controlled Experiment of Different Nutrition Labels on Purchases and Consumption
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Food Preferences
Keywords: food labeling
child
sugar-sweetened beverages
eating
drinking
choice behavior
Lead sponsor: University of Pennsylvania
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
First posted: 2021-10-15
Enrollment: 216
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: This randomized, controlled online study will capture beverage and snack purchases from an online store. These products will be mailed to participants for each of the 4 shopping weeks. Participants' consumption will be measured at the beginning and end of the study. As this is a within-participant study, consumption for each arm will be compared to baseline for that participant (Week 1 shopping).
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: The aim of this study is to determine the degree to which sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) warning labels increase consumers' knowledge about the potential health harms of SSBs and reduce SSB purchases and consumption. 216 racially and ethnically diverse parents of children 6-11 years old will be recruited to buy snacks and beverages for four weeks via an online store that ships participants their purchases. Participants will be randomized to either 1) calorie labels (control); or 2) sugar graphic warning labels. The investigators hypothesize that sugar graphic warning labels displayed in an online store in weeks 2-4 will lead to the greatest reductions from week 1 across both primary outcomes compared to the control group that will only see calorie labels.

Detailed description: During this study, participants will shop in an online store created using Shopify for four weeks. In this within-participant design, the first week of shopping is baseline. Participants will then be randomized to different store interfaces for the remaining three weeks based on one of two warning label conditions: 1) calorie labels (control); or 2) sugar graphic warning labels. Participants will complete a brief survey at the start of the study to assess demographic information, information about parent and child beverage consumption, and their online shopping experiences. At the end they will complete another survey about their beverage consumption, their experience shopping in the store, whether they noticed and used the warning labels, and their ability to recall the warning label message. Participants will also be asked about their perceptions of a specific type of warning label in this final survey. Upon completion of the survey, participants will be shown a debriefing statement explaining the study purpose. After they read the information, they will be asked whether or not they consent to allow their data to be used in this study.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* a primary caregiver of a child 6-to-11 years old;
* \>=18 years old;
* can read and speak English;
* primary grocery shopper for their household;
* have regular Internet access; and
* report that the oldest of their children between 6 and 11 years old is consuming sugar sweetened beverages at least twelve times per month or approximately three times a week

Exclusion Criteria:

* not a primary caregiver of a child 6-to-11 years old;
* \<18 years old;
* cannot read and/or speak English;
* not the primary grocery shopper for their household;
* does not have regular Internet access; and
* does not report that the oldest of their children between 6 and 11 years old is consuming sugar sweetened beverages at least twelve times per month or approximately three times a week

Primary outcomes:
measure: Beverage Calories Purchased, Week 1
timeFrame: one week
measure: Beverage Calories Purchased, Weeks 2-4
timeFrame: three weeks
measure: Beverage Added Sugars Purchased, Week 1
timeFrame: one week
measure: Beverage Added Sugars Purchased, Weeks 2-4
timeFrame: three weeks
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Number Purchasing a Sweetened Beverage, Week 1
timeFrame: one week
measure: Number Purchasing a Sweetened Beverage, Weeks 2-4
timeFrame: three weeks
measure: Snack Calories Purchased, Week 1
timeFrame: one week
measure: Snack Calories Purchased, Weeks 2-4
timeFrame: three weeks
measure: Snack Added Sugars Purchased, Week 1
timeFrame: one week
measure: Snack Added Sugars Purchased, Weeks 2-4
timeFrame: three weeks
measure: Total Calories Purchased, Week 1
timeFrame: one week
measure: Total Calories Purchased, Weeks 2-4
timeFrame: three weeks
measure: Total Added Sugars Purchased, Week 1
timeFrame: one week
measure: Total Added Sugars Purchased, Weeks 2-4
timeFrame: three weeks
measure: Volume of Sweetened Beverages Consumed by Child, Baseline
timeFrame: baseline
measure: Volume of Sweetened Beverages Consumed by Child, Final
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Volume of Sweetened Beverages Consumed by Parent, Baseline
timeFrame: baseline
measure: Volume of Sweetened Beverages Consumed by Parent, Final
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Noticing the Label
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Perceived Label Influence
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: How Much do You Trust the Information on This Label
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Likelihood of Label Changing Thoughts
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Encourage You to Give Fewer Beverages to Your Child
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Negative Reactions to the Label
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Child Enjoyment of Water
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Child Enjoyment of Orange Juice
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Child Enjoyment of Soda
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Child Enjoyment of Sports Drink
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Likely to Serve or Buy Water
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Likely to Serve or Buy Orange Juice
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Likely to Serve or Buy Soda
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Likely to Serve or Buy Sports Drinks
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Health Beliefs and Risk Perceptions Index for Water
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Health Beliefs and Risk Perceptions Index for Orange Juice
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Health Beliefs and Risk Perceptions Index for Soda
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Health Beliefs and Risk Perceptions Index for Sports Drinks
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Estimate of How Many Teaspoons of Added Sugar Are in Water
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Estimate of How Many Teaspoons of Added Sugar Are in Orange Juice
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Estimate of How Many Teaspoons of Added Sugar Are in Soda
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Estimate of How Many Teaspoons of Added Sugar Are in Sports Drinks
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Perceived Amount of Added Sugar in Water
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Perceived Amount of Added Sugar in Orange Juice
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Perceived Amount of Added Sugar in Soda
timeFrame: Week 4
measure: Perceived Amount of Added Sugar in Sports Drinks
timeFrame: Week 4
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Philadelphia
country: United States
facility: University of Pennsylvania
state: Pennsylvania
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Pennsylvania
name: Christina A Roberto, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: