Making Calories Count: Information Format and Food Choice

University of Pennsylvania

Status: Completed

Conditions: Obesity

Treatments: Behavioral: Provide menu with visual cue and calorie information; Behavioral: Provide menu with no visual cue but with calorie information; Behavioral: Provide menu with visual cue but no calorie information; Behavioral: Provide menu with no visual cue and no calorie information

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT01346449

812950

P30AG034546 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of the study is to better understand how individuals make decisions regarding the meals they order. Participants' ordering decisions at lunchtime at a chain restaurant will be recorded over several weeks to study ordering habits over time. Lunch menus will be provided by the study, and the menu format will vary the way in which information on caloric content is displayed.

The impact of different labeling formats on total calories in the chosen meal will be assessed.

Enrollment: 292 patients

Sex: All

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Customers of two chain restaurants

Exclusion criteria

• Unable to read a written menu

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Factorial Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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292 participants in 4 patient groups

Visual cue absent

Active Comparator group

Treatment:

Behavioral: Provide menu with no visual cue but with calorie information

Behavioral: Provide menu with no visual cue and no calorie information

Calorie information present

Experimental group

Treatment:

Behavioral: Provide menu with no visual cue but with calorie information

Behavioral: Provide menu with visual cue and calorie information

Calorie information absent

Active Comparator group

Treatment:

Behavioral: Provide menu with visual cue but no calorie information

Behavioral: Provide menu with no visual cue and no calorie information

Visual cue present

Experimental group

Treatment:

Behavioral: Provide menu with visual cue but no calorie information

Behavioral: Provide menu with visual cue and calorie information