An interventional study of Sugary drink warning labels in Obesity, Weight Gain and Diabetes Type 2, sponsored by University of Pennsylvania. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2020-03-11.
Sponsored by University of Pennsylvania · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
The aim of this study is to compare different sugary drink labels to see which most influence knowledge, beliefs, purchase intentions and choices. Parents of children ages 6-11 will shop in a virtual convenience store after being randomized to 1 of 4 conditions: 1) calorie labels; 2) text warning labels; 3) graphic sugar warning labels; or 4) graphic health warning. This study will provide data comparing the influence of sugary drink text warning labels and two kinds of graphic warning labels.
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Exclusion Criteria:
This arm will display a "Calories per Bottle" label on all beverages, not just sugary beverages. This label is identical to the American Beverage Association's current "Clear on Calories" labels (as of 2018).
Behavioral: Sugary drink warning labels
This arm will display similar text proposed in a recent sugary drink warning label bill in California. Sample text: WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and tooth decay. The calorie label will also appear on all beverages.
Behavioral: Sugary drink warning labels
This arm will graphically display the amount of sugar in each sugary beverage along with the same text used in the "text warning label" arm. The calorie label will also appear on all beverages.
Behavioral: Sugary drink warning labels
This arm will graphically display potential negative health effects of over consuming sugary drinks for each sugary beverage, along with the same text used in the "text warning label" arm. The calorie label will also appear on all beverages.
Behavioral: Sugary drink warning labels
This information appears in the description of the study arms.
Hypothetical beverage choice
Participants will select a beverage to purchase in the virtual store. Our outcome will be the percentage of parents choosing a 20-ounce sugary drink for their child
Time frame: The survey will take up to 20 minutes
Likely to serve or buy these beverages:
Item: "How likely are you to serve or buy this product for your child in the next 4 weeks?" This will be answered on a 7-point Likert scale.
Time frame: The survey will take up to 20 minutes
Parent feels good serving the beverages
Item: "Serving this product to my child would make me feel like I am doing something good for my child." This will be measured on a 7-point likert scale.
Time frame: The survey will take up to 20 minutes
Child enjoyment of beverages
Item: "How much do you think your child would enjoy this product?" This will be answered on a 7-point likert scale.
Time frame: The survey will take up to 20 minutes
Health beliefs and risk perceptions index
We will create this outcome by summing responses to the following 7 health perception questions 6 prompted with the statement "Drinking this product often would...". The statements end with the following health belief and risk perception language: "lead my child to gain weight," "increase my child's risk of heart disease," "increase my child's risk of diabetes," "make my child feel energized," "help my child focus at school", and "help my child live a healthy life." The other item is: "How healthy do you think this product is for your child?" Responses to questions about weight gain, heart disease, and diabetes will be reverse coded, so higher scores on the index will indicate a stronger positive health perception of the beverages. These will be scored on 7-point likert scales.
Time frame: The survey will take up to 20 minutes
Estimate of how many teaspoons of added sugar are in the beverages
This variable will be measured continuously based on a text box provided to participants.
Time frame: The survey will take up to 20 minutes
Perceived amount of added sugar in beverages
This variable will be measured on a 3-point Likert scale ranging from "too little for my child" to "too much for my child".
Time frame: The survey will take up to 20 minutes
Noticing the label
Participants will respond "yes," "no," or "I don't know" to the item: "When you selected a beverage to buy for your child at the beginning of this survey, did you notice any labels on the beverages other than calorie information?"
Time frame: The survey will take up to 20 minutes
Perceived label influence
Participants will respond: "yes", "no," or "I did not notice any labels" in response to the question of whether the label influenced their purchase.
Time frame: The survey will take up to 20 minutes
Favor or oppose sugary drink warning label policy
We will compare the percentage of participants in favor of (combining somewhat favor and strongly favor), opposed to (combining somewhat oppose and strongly oppose), or neutral about the policy based on the following question: "Would you favor or oppose a government policy requiring a warning label to be placed on beverages with added sugars?" Ratings will be from -2 to 2.
Time frame: The survey will take up to 20 minutes
Likelihood of label changing thoughts
Item: "If this government warning label were on a beverage, how much would it change your thoughts about the healthiness of that beverage for your child?" This will be measured on a 5-point Likert scale.
Time frame: The survey will take up to 20 minutes
Encourage you to give fewer beverages to your child
Item: "If you saw this government warning label on a beverage, would the label encourage you to serve your child that beverage less often?" The responses will be measured on a 5-point Likert scale.
Time frame: The survey will take up to 20 minutes
How much do you trust the information on this label
Item: "How much do you trust the information on this label?". Responses will be measured on a 7-point Likert scale.
Time frame: The survey will take up to 20 minutes
Negative reactions to the label
We will examine the average negative emotional response to the label (said the warning label made them feel worried, fearful, guilty, or disgusted or grossed out). Each emotion will be scored on a 5-pt likert scale.
Time frame: The survey will take up to 20 minutes
Plan to share: Yes — We will share a de-identified dataset via an online data storage website (e.g., open science framework, dataverse, research box)
Supporting information: Study protocol, Sap, Icf, Analytic code
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
This study is completed, as verified in Mar 2020. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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University of Pennsylvania