Effects of Sugary Drinks Counter-marketing Messages

Obesity Clinical Trial

Official title:

Effects of Anti-sugar-sweetened-beverage Counter-marketing on Behavioral Intentions and Perceived Weight Stigma

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05953194
• Other study ID #: 69580a
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: August 7, 2023
• Est. completion date: August 7, 2023

Study information

• Verified date: February 2024
• Source: Stanford University
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

This study aims to examine consumer responses to traditional and counter-marketing messages discouraging sugary drink consumption, including effects on intentions to consume sugary drinks and perceived weight stigma. Because prior research has suggested that counter-marketing may be especially effective among younger populations, the investigators will examine effects overall and by age group (young adults [ages 18-29 years] vs. middle and older adults [ages 30+ years]).

Description:

In this online randomized clinical trial, participants will be randomized to one of three arms: 1) Control (neutral) messages, 2) Traditional health messages, and 3) Counter-marketing messages. In each arm, participants will view four messages developed for their randomly assigned arm and answer questions about the messages and their behavioral intentions.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 2184
• Est. completion date: August 7, 2023
• Est. primary completion date: August 7, 2023
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18 years old or older

Exclusion Criteria:

• Less than 18 years old

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Body Weight
• Dietary Habits
• Obesity
• Weight Gain

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Exposure to counter-marketing messages
Counter-marketing messages about sugary drinks that incorporate principles of effective counter-marketing campaigns, including describing industry manipulation of consumers, appealing to emotions (especially anger), describing health consequences, and criticizing the industry for demographic targeting. Messages include text adapted from prior counter-marketing campaigns. Participants will view a total of 4 messages developed for this arm.
• Exposure to traditional health messages
Traditional health messages focused on the health consequences of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, using text adapted from prior sugary drink campaigns. Participants will view a total of 4 messages developed for this arm.
• Exposure to control (neutral) messages
Control messages approximately matched to the intervention messages on length, but discussing a neutral topic unrelated to sugary drinks (safe driving). Participants will view a total of 4 messages developed for this arm.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Stanford School of Medicine	Palo Alto	California

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Stanford University	Harvard Pilgrim Health Care

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

References & Publications (9)

Boles M, Adams A, Gredler A, Manhas S. Ability of a mass media campaign to influence knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors about sugary drinks and obesity. Prev Med. 2014 Oct;67 Suppl 1:S40-5. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2014.07.023. Epub 2014 Jul 24. — View Citation

Bryan CJ, Yeager DS, Hinojosa CP. A values-alignment intervention protects adolescents from the effects of food marketing. Nat Hum Behav. 2019 Jun;3(6):596-603. doi: 10.1038/s41562-019-0586-6. Epub 2019 Apr 15. — View Citation

Crandall CS, Reser AH. Attributions and Weight-Based Prejudice. In: Brownell K, Puhl R, Schwartz M, Rudd L, eds. Weight Bias: Nature, Consequences, and Remedies. Guilford Publications; 2005:83-96.

Dixon H, Scully M, Gascoyne C, Wakefield M. Can counter-advertising diminish persuasive effects of conventional and pseudo-healthy unhealthy food product advertising on parents?: an experimental study. BMC Public Health. 2020 Nov 25;20(1):1781. doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-09881-1. — View Citation

Kite J, Grunseit A, Bohn-Goldbaum E, Bellew B, Carroll T, Bauman A. A Systematic Search and Review of Adult-Targeted Overweight and Obesity Prevention Mass Media Campaigns and Their Evaluation: 2000-2017. J Health Commun. 2018;23(2):207-232. doi: 10.1080/10810730.2018.1423651. Epub 2018 Jan 16. — View Citation

Kraak VI, Consavage Stanley K, Harrigan PB, Zhou M. How have media campaigns been used to promote and discourage healthy and unhealthy beverages in the United States? A systematic scoping review to inform future research to reduce sugary beverage health risks. Obes Rev. 2022 May;23(5):e13425. doi: 10.1111/obr.13425. Epub 2022 Feb 9. — View Citation

Krieger J, Kwon T, Ruiz R, Walkinshaw LP, Yan J, Roberto CA. Countermarketing About Fruit Drinks, Alone or With Water Promotion: A 2019 Randomized Controlled Trial in Latinx Parents. Am J Public Health. 2021 Nov;111(11):1997-2007. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2021.306488. Epub 2021 Oct 28. — View Citation

Puhl RM, Schwartz MB, Brownell KD. Impact of perceived consensus on stereotypes about obese people: a new approach for reducing bias. Health Psychol. 2005 Sep;24(5):517-25. doi: 10.1037/0278-6133.24.5.517. — View Citation

Te V, Ford P, Schubert L. Exploring social media campaigns against sugar-sweetened beverage consumption: A systematic search. Schumacher U, ed. Cogent Medicine. 2019;6(1):1607432. doi:10.1080/2331205X.2019.1607432

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Intentions to consume sugary drinks	We will assess intentions to consume sugary drinks using 2 items: "In the next week, I plan to drink sugary drinks like sodas, sports drinks, or fruit drinks," and "In the next week, I am likely to drink sugar-sweetened beverages like sodas, sports drinks, or fruit drinks". Response options to both items will use a 5-point Likert scale: the first item's response options will range from "definitely not" (1) to "definitely yes" (5), and the second item's response options will range from "not at all likely" (1) to "extremely likely" (5). We will average responses to the 2 items.	The survey will take up to 20 minutes
Secondary	Perceived message effectiveness for discouraging sugary drink consumption	Item: "These messages discourage me from wanting to drink sugary drinks." This variable will be measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from "not at all" (1) to "a great deal" (5).	The survey will take up to 20 minutes
Secondary	Negative feelings toward drinking sugary drinks	Item: "How do these messages make you feel about drinking sugary drinks?" This variable will be measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from "extremely positive" (1) to "extremely negative" (5).	The survey will take up to 20 minutes
Secondary	Anticipated social interactions	We will examine anticipated social interactions by asking, "How likely are you to talk about these messages with others in the next week?" This item will be scored on a 5-pt Likert scale ranging from "not at all likely" (1) to "extremely likely" (5).	The survey will take up to 20 minutes
Secondary	Attitudes toward sugary drink companies	We will examine attitudes toward sugary drink companies by asking, "How do you feel about companies that make sugary drinks?" This item will be scored on a 5-pt Likert scale ranging from "dislike them a lot" (1) to "like them a lot" (5).	The survey will take up to 20 minutes
Secondary	Perceived obesity stigma	We will examine the extent to which participants perceive the messages as contributing to obesity stigma by asking 3 items: "These messages promote negative attitudes about people who have overweight or obesity," "These messages increase blame towards people for being overweight," and "These messages make obesity seem like a much simpler issue than it really is." Each item will be scored on a 5-point Likert scale from "not at all" (1) to "a great deal" (5). We will average responses to these items.	The survey will take up to 20 minutes
Secondary	Message reactance	We will examine psychological reactance to the messages by asking 3 items: "These messages are trying to manipulate me," "These messages are overblown" and "How much do these messages make you feel angry?" Each item will be scored on a 5-point Likert scale from "not at all" (1) to "a great deal" (5). We will average responses to these items, assuming sufficient internal consistency (alpha>=.70).	The survey will take up to 20 minutes