The Effect of a Descriptive Norm Promoting Vegetable Selection in a Workplace Restaurant Setting: an Observational Study

Eating Behaviour Clinical Trial

Official title:

The Effect of a Descriptive Norm Promoting Vegetable Selection in a Workplace

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT02603263
• Other study ID #: UBirmingham-SNS7
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: October 22, 2015
• Last updated: November 9, 2015
• Start date: February 2015
• Est. completion date: August 2015

Study information

• Verified date: November 2015
• Source: University of Birmingham
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: United Kingdom: Research Councils UK
• Study type: Observational

Clinical Trial Summary

Encouraging individuals to eat fruit and vegetables is difficult. However, recent evidence suggests that using social-based information might help. For instance, it has been shown that if people think that others are eating lots of fruit and vegetables, that they will consume more food to match the 'norm'.The purpose of this study was to determine whether social norm messages could be used to enhance vegetable purchases in workplace restaurants, in an observational study.

Description:

In this study the investigators hypothesised that placing posters containing social norm messages promoting vegetable consumption in three workplace restaurants, would increase the purchase of meals with vegetables, and that this effect would be sustained over time. The investigators recruited three restaurants to this study. For two weeks (Pre-intervention phase) the investigators used till receipts to monitor the number of meals sold with or without vegetables at baseline. For the following two weeks (Intervention phase) the investigators placed social norms posters around the three restaurants, while continuing to collect till receipts. After this, the posters were removed, and receipts were monitored for a final two weeks (Post-intervention).

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 9445
• Est. completion date: August 2015
• Est. primary completion date: August 2015
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: Both
• Age group: N/A and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Purchase of a meal at one of the restaurants

Exclusion Criteria:

Study Design

N/A

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Eating Behaviour

Intervention

Other:
• Social Norms Poster
A poster containing a social norms message: "Most people here choose to eat vegetables with their lunch"

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United Kingdom	University of Birmingham	Birmingham	West Midlands

Sponsors (3)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Birmingham	C H & Co Ltd., Economic and Social Research Council, United Kingdom

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United Kingdom, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Percentage of meals containing vegetables		7 months	No