Food PreferencesNCT06260176
Vending Labeling Sales and Intercepts Study
A study testing exposure to healthy labels only, exposure to healthiness information and exposure to physical activity equivalents in people with Food Preferences and Obesity, run by University of Pennsylvania at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The aim of this study is to compare the impact of 4 different types of front of package (FOP) food and beverage messages: 1) green labels on healthy foods, 2) red/yellow/green labels on less healthy/moderately healthy/healthy foods, 3) physical activity calorie equivalent labels, and 4) posters reminding consumers of… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Food Preferences, Obesity, Weight Gain
- What is being tested?
- exposure to healthy labels only, exposure to healthiness information and exposure to physical activity equivalents
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 1,065 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 1 Feb 2019to 12 Mar 2020
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Any person aged 18 or older making a purchase from the vending machines included in this intervention will be asked to participate in this study.
Who cannot join
- People who indicate they have already taken the survey are not eligible to take the survey again.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104
About this study
Official title: A Large Scale Long-term Randomized Trial of Nutrition Labeling Interventions
The aim of this study is to compare the impact of 4 different types of front of package (FOP) food and beverage messages: 1) green labels on healthy foods, 2) red/yellow/green labels on less healthy/moderately healthy/healthy foods, 3) physical activity calorie equivalent labels, and 4) posters reminding consumers of the sweetened beverage tax on consumers' beverage and snack selections.
Read the detailed description
This project involves a randomized field experiment. The investigators worked with the vending contractor for the City of Philadelphia to randomize vending machine locations (covering ~260 beverage and snack machines) to one of the four different message conditions: 1) single green traffic light labels (on healthy foods); 2) multiple traffic light labels (red traffic light labels applied to less healthy foods, yellow applied to moderately healthy foods, and green on healthy foods); 3) physical activity labels (calorie content displayed in terms of physical activity equivalents); 4) posters reminding consumers of the Philadelphia sweetened beverage tax and encouraging healthier choices. The City's vending machine contractors provided monthly aggregated sales data from each machine for analysis. Customer intercepts were also collected at the point of sale, after customers completed their purchase, to evaluate factors that moderate message influence. They were asked to answer questions about their perceptions of the different labels.
- Conditions
- Food Preferences, Obesity, Weight Gain
- Being tested
- exposure to healthy labels only, exposure to healthiness information, exposure to physical activity equivalents, exposure to sweetened beverage tax messaging
- Keywords
- food labeling, sugar-sweetened beverages, eating, drinking, choice behavior
- Medical subject headings
- Food Preferences, Obesity, Weight Gain
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
exposure to healthy labels onlyBehavioural
Green labels only for beverages and foods scored as healthy
exposure to healthiness informationBehavioural
All beverages and foods labeled as either healthy (green), moderately healthy (yellow), or less healthy (red)
exposure to physical activity equivalentsBehavioural
All beverages and foods labeled with physical activity required to burn their calories
exposure to sweetened beverage tax messagingBehavioural
Message reminding consumers to make healthier choices
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Green labels | Experimental | green label added to healthy product slots; no additional labels shown for "less healthy" products and 1 poster per machine explaining the labels Receives: Behavioral: exposure to healthy labels only |
| Traffic light labels | Experimental | red/yellow/green labels added to slots for less healthy/moderately healthy/healthy products, respectively and 1 poster per machine explaining the labels Receives: Behavioral: exposure to healthiness information |
| Physical activity calorie equivalent labels | Experimental | labels added to slots that display products' calorie content in terms of physical activity required to burn those calories and 1 poster per machine explaining the labels Receives: Behavioral: exposure to physical activity equivalents |
| Sweetened beverage tax posters | Experimental | 1 poster per machine; no labels; posters reminded consumers of the Philadelphia sweetened beverage tax and encouraging healthier choices Receives: Behavioral: exposure to sweetened beverage tax messaging |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Percentage of beverages sold with calories per month
Outcome is percentage of monthly beverages selected that had calories
Measured: Every month, for 13 months
Calories sold from beverages per month, if beverages with calories sold
Outcome is calories in beverages sold per month - only for beverages with calories.
Measured: Every month, for 13 months
Calories sold from snacks per month
Outcome is calories in snacks sold per month.
Measured: Every month, for 13 months
Likelihood of selecting a healthy beverage
Outcome is percentage of monthly beverages selected were healthy beverages (green labeled in the traffic light condition)
Measured: Every month, for 13 months
Likelihood of selecting a moderately healthy beverage
Outcome is percentage of monthly beverages selected were moderately healthy beverages (yellow labeled in the traffic light condition)
Measured: Every month, for 13 months
Likelihood of selecting a less healthy beverage
Outcome is percentage of monthly beverages selected were less healthy beverages (red labeled in the traffic light condition)
Measured: Every month, for 13 months
Likelihood of selecting a healthy snack
Outcome is percentage of monthly snacks selected were healthy snacks (green labeled in the traffic light condition)
Measured: Every month, for 13 months
Likelihood of selecting a moderately healthy snack
Outcome is percentage of monthly snacks selected were moderately healthy snacks (yellow labeled in the traffic light condition)
Measured: Every month, for 13 months
Likelihood of selecting a less healthy snack
Outcome is percentage of monthly snacks selected were less healthy snacks (red labeled in the traffic light condition)
Measured: Every month, for 13 months
Total beverage units sold per month per machine.
Outcome is number of monthly beverages sold per machine
Measured: Every month, for 13 months
Total snack units sold per month per machine
Outcome is number of monthly snacks sold per machine
Measured: Every month, for 13 months
Secondary outcomes (3)
Total revenue per month per beverage machine
Outcome is the total dollar sales per month per beverage machine.
Measured: Every month, for 13 months
Total revenue per month per snack machine
Outcome is the total dollar sales per month per snack machine.
Measured: Every month, for 13 months
Total calories sold per customer trip
Customer purchase assessments will be conducted in front of study machines. Outcome is total number of calories (beverage + snack) purchased per customer trip.
Measured: 5-minute survey
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted15 Feb 2024
- Study start1 Feb 2019
- Primary completion12 Mar 2020
- Study completion12 Mar 2020
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Food PreferencesStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University of PennsylvaniaThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- Machine locations were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 front-of-package message arms, stratified by baseline machine sales (high/low) and type of machine location (correctional facilities, courts/offices, large offices, police/fire, recreation centers/libraries/other) with equal probability. The investigators first randomized vending locations (e.g., floors) with beverage machines so that all machines on the same floor displayed the same label. They then randomized the remaining "solo" snack locations. Monthly sales data provided by the City's vending contractor indicated consumer choices. Research assistants also asked a subset of consumers (N=1,065) about their purchases. Intercepts were not allowed in the courts/offices location type and were not conducted at correctional facilities with low traffic. The aim was to collect 10 intercepts per machine visited, distributed over the entire study period, however the study was cut short in March 2020 by the Covid pandemic.
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 1,065 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Pennsylvania
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Christina A Roberto, Principal investigator, University of Pennsylvania
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06260176
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 828722
- Other IDs
- R01DK113307, 15163
- Status last verified
- Feb 2024
- First submitted
- 29 Jan 2024
- Last updated
- 15 Feb 2024
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: Machine sales data are proprietary and cannot be shared. However, no identifiable data were collected from the customer purchase assessments, so after analysis, the investigators will upload the customer de-identified data to ResearchBox for public sharing.
Publications
Gibson LA, Stephens-Shields AJ, Hua SV, Orr JA, Lawman HG, Bleich SN, Volpp KG, Bleakley A, Thorndike AN, Roberto CA. Comparison of Sales From Vending Machines With 4 Different Food and Beverage Messages: A Randomized Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 May 1;7(5):e249438. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.9438.
PubMed 38717775
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 15 Feb 2024. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- A Large Scale Long-term Randomized Trial of Nutrition Labeling Interventions
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06260176
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 828722
- Conditions
- Food Preferences, Obesity, Weight Gain
- Keywords
- food labeling, sugar-sweetened beverages, eating, drinking, choice behavior
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 1,065 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of PennsylvaniaUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
- Study start
- 1 Feb 2019 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 12 Mar 2020 (actual)
- Study completion
- 12 Mar 2020 (actual)
- First posted
- 15 Feb 2024 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The aim of this study is to compare the impact of 4 different types of front of package (FOP) food and beverage messages: 1) green labels on healthy foods, 2) red/yellow/green labels on less healthy/moderately healthy/healthy foods, 3) physical activity calorie equivalent labels, and 4) posters reminding consumers of the sweetened beverage tax on consumers' beverage and snack selections.
Detailed description
This project involves a randomized field experiment. The investigators worked with the vending contractor for the City of Philadelphia to randomize vending machine locations (covering ~260 beverage and snack machines) to one of the four different message conditions: 1) single green traffic light labels (on healthy foods); 2) multiple traffic light labels (red traffic light labels applied to less healthy foods, yellow applied to moderately healthy foods, and green on healthy foods); 3) physical activity labels (calorie content displayed in terms of physical activity equivalents); 4) posters reminding consumers of the Philadelphia sweetened beverage tax and encouraging healthier choices. The City's vending machine contractors provided monthly aggregated sales data from each machine for analysis. Customer intercepts were also collected at the point of sale, after customers completed their purchase, to evaluate factors that moderate message influence. They were asked to answer questions about their perceptions of the different labels.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 4
- Model description
- Machine locations were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 front-of-package message arms, stratified by baseline machine sales (high/low) and type of machine location (correctional facilities, courts/offices, large offices, police/fire, recreation centers/libraries/other) with equal probability. The investigators first randomized vending locations (e.g., floors) with beverage machines so that all machines on the same floor displayed the same label. They then randomized the remaining "solo" snack locations. Monthly sales data provided by the City's vending contractor indicated consumer choices. Research assistants also asked a subset of consumers (N=1,065) about their purchases. Intercepts were not allowed in the courts/offices location type and were not conducted at correctional facilities with low traffic. The aim was to collect 10 intercepts per machine visited, distributed over the entire study period, however the study was cut short in March 2020 by the Covid pandemic.
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Green labels | Experimental | Behavioral: exposure to healthy labels onlygreen label added to healthy product slots; no additional labels shown for "less healthy" products and 1 poster per machine explaining the labels |
| Traffic light labels | Experimental | Behavioral: exposure to healthiness informationred/yellow/green labels added to slots for less healthy/moderately healthy/healthy products, respectively and 1 poster per machine explaining the labels |
| Physical activity calorie equivalent labels | Experimental | Behavioral: exposure to physical activity equivalentslabels added to slots that display products' calorie content in terms of physical activity required to burn those calories and 1 poster per machine explaining the labels |
| Sweetened beverage tax posters | Experimental | Behavioral: exposure to sweetened beverage tax messaging1 poster per machine; no labels; posters reminded consumers of the Philadelphia sweetened beverage tax and encouraging healthier choices |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Any person aged 18 or older making a purchase from the vending machines included in this intervention will be asked to participate in this study.
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- People who indicate they have already taken the survey are not eligible to take the survey again.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| exposure to healthy labels onlyGreen labels only for beverages and foods scored as healthy | Behavioural | Green labels |
| exposure to healthiness informationAll beverages and foods labeled as either healthy (green), moderately healthy (yellow), or less healthy (red) | Behavioural | Traffic light labels |
| exposure to physical activity equivalentsAll beverages and foods labeled with physical activity required to burn their calories | Behavioural | Physical activity calorie equivalent labels |
| exposure to sweetened beverage tax messagingMessage reminding consumers to make healthier choices | Behavioural | Sweetened beverage tax posters |
Primary outcome
Percentage of beverages sold with calories per month
Time frame: Every month, for 13 months
Outcome is percentage of monthly beverages selected that had calories
Calories sold from beverages per month, if beverages with calories sold
Time frame: Every month, for 13 months
Outcome is calories in beverages sold per month - only for beverages with calories.
Calories sold from snacks per month
Time frame: Every month, for 13 months
Outcome is calories in snacks sold per month.
Likelihood of selecting a healthy beverage
Time frame: Every month, for 13 months
Outcome is percentage of monthly beverages selected were healthy beverages (green labeled in the traffic light condition)
Likelihood of selecting a moderately healthy beverage
Time frame: Every month, for 13 months
Outcome is percentage of monthly beverages selected were moderately healthy beverages (yellow labeled in the traffic light condition)
Likelihood of selecting a less healthy beverage
Time frame: Every month, for 13 months
Outcome is percentage of monthly beverages selected were less healthy beverages (red labeled in the traffic light condition)
Likelihood of selecting a healthy snack
Time frame: Every month, for 13 months
Outcome is percentage of monthly snacks selected were healthy snacks (green labeled in the traffic light condition)
Likelihood of selecting a moderately healthy snack
Time frame: Every month, for 13 months
Outcome is percentage of monthly snacks selected were moderately healthy snacks (yellow labeled in the traffic light condition)
Likelihood of selecting a less healthy snack
Time frame: Every month, for 13 months
Outcome is percentage of monthly snacks selected were less healthy snacks (red labeled in the traffic light condition)
Total beverage units sold per month per machine.
Time frame: Every month, for 13 months
Outcome is number of monthly beverages sold per machine
Total snack units sold per month per machine
Time frame: Every month, for 13 months
Outcome is number of monthly snacks sold per machine
3 secondary outcomes
Total revenue per month per beverage machine
Time frame: Every month, for 13 months
Total revenue per month per snack machine
Time frame: Every month, for 13 months
Total calories sold per customer trip
Time frame: 5-minute survey
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 15 Feb 2024.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 38717775Gibson LA, Stephens-Shields AJ, Hua SV, Orr JA, Lawman HG, Bleich SN, Volpp KG, Bleakley A, Thorndike AN, Roberto CA. Comparison of Sales From Vending Machines With 4 Different Food and Beverage Messages: A Randomized Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 May 1;7(5):e249438. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.9438.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. Machine sales data are proprietary and cannot be shared. However, no identifiable data were collected from the customer purchase assessments, so after analysis, the investigators will upload the customer de-identified data to ResearchBox for public sharing.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Christina A Roberto principal investigator
University of Pennsylvania
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing exposure to healthy labels only, exposure to healthiness information and exposure to physical activity equivalents in people with Food Preferences and Obesity, run by University of Pennsylvania at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 15 Feb 2024. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Percentage of beverages sold with calories per month (time frame: Every month, for 13 months). The study lists 11 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT06260176, which also lists 1 linked publication.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 15 Feb 2024.