Testing Product Messages in Colombia

Obesity Clinical Trial

Official title:

Testing Product Messages in Colombia

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05783726
• Other study ID #: 20-0401b
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: May 12, 2023
• Est. completion date: June 22, 2023

Study information

• Verified date: May 2023
• Source: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Purpose: To better understand the impact of different front-of-package labels (FOPLs) on consumer purchasing intentions and ability to identify unhealthy foods.

Participants: ~8,000 Colombians, recruited from Offerwise, that are 18 years or older.

Procedures (methods): Participants will be randomly assigned to view images of food and drink products with either a nutrient warning label, Guideline Daily Amount label, Nutriscore label, or no-label control. They will be asked a series of questions about the products and the labels (excluding control group) on them. Questions will also include standard demographic and health related variables.

Description:

Participants will be recruited from Offerwise (an online panel research company). Following online consent, participants will be randomly assigned to view different labels (explained below) on food and drink packaging. Participants will answer self-reported responses to the content (e.g., elaboration, beliefs, perceived healthfulness). After being randomized to one of the four groups and answering questions (e.g. which product is healthier, which product would you buy), the participant will see all three labels and select which is most dissuading from consuming a product high in a nutrient. At the end, the participant will answer demographic questions.

Participants will be randomized to see either a no-label control or 1 of 3 nutrient labels. The participants will see 5 types of products with the labels (fruit drinks, yogurt, sliced bread, cookies, and breakfast cereal).

Nutrient labels:

1. Guideline Daily Amount label

2. Nutriscore label

3. Adapted Peruvian nutrient warning label (high in sugar, high in saturated fat, high in salt/sodium)

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 8086
• Est. completion date: June 22, 2023
• Est. primary completion date: June 22, 2023
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years to 64 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18-64 years old

• Resident of Colombia

• Offerwise panel member (recruitment platform)

Exclusion Criteria:

• <18 years old or >64 years old

• Not a resident of Colombia

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Obesity

Intervention

Other:
• Control
Participants will be shown images of juice, bread, yogurt, cookies, and cereal without any added front-of-package labels.

Behavioral:
• Nutriscore Label
A front-of-package Nutriscore label will be applied to images of juice, bread, yogurt, cookies, and cereal. This label applies a score of A, B, C, D, or E based on the product's nutrition profile.
• Adapted Peruvian Nutrient Label
A front-of-package octagonal nutrient label will be applied to images of juice, bread, yogurt, cookies, and cereal. The label text informs consumers if a product is high in sugar, saturated fat, or salt/sodium. These labels were developed by the Peruvian government and adapted by investigators.
• Guideline Daily Amount Label
A front-of-package Guideline Daily Amount label will be applied to images of juice, bread, yogurt, cookies, and cereal. The label shows the amount and percent of daily value of calories, total fat, saturated fat, sugar, and sodium in one serving of a product.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	UNC Carolina Population Center	Chapel Hill	North Carolina

Sponsors (3)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill	The Bloomberg Family Foundation, Inc., Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Selection of Product Higher in Sugar	Percentage of participants who select the less healthy product in a set of two products as the product the consumer most wants to buy.	During ~15 minute online survey
Primary	Correct Identification of the Product Higher in Sugar	Percentage of participants who correctly select the product higher in sugar (between two products)	During ~15 minute online survey
Secondary	Perceived Message Effectiveness	Perceived message effectiveness of the study labels. Response options are on a 1 to 5 scale, with lower scores representing a higher amount of the construct.; Perceived message effectiveness is measured using 3 items adapted from Baig et al. (2018): concern, unpleasantness, and discouragement. Responses to the 3 items will be averaged to create a perceived message effectiveness score.; Question: How much does this message...; make you concerned about the health effect of consuming an unhealthy product? discourage you from wanting to eat an unhealthy product? make eating an unhealthy product seem unpleasant to you? Only asked of the label arms, not control.	During ~15 minute online survey
Secondary	Purchase Likelihood	Likelihood that participants would purchase this product in the next week if it were available. Response options are on a 1 to 5 scale, with lower scores representing a higher amount of the construct	During ~15 minute online survey
Secondary	Identify Less Healthy Product	Percentage of participants that correctly identify the less healthy product when selecting between two products.	During ~15 minute online survey
Secondary	Ability to Identify Product as Having Excess of Sugar/Saturated Fat/Sodium	Percentage of participants who correctly identify that the product contains excess sugar, saturated fat, or sodium.	During ~15 minute online survey
Secondary	Most Discouraging Label	Percentage of participants selecting each nutrient label as most discouraging them from consuming the product.	During ~15 minute online survey