Testing the Influence of Different Sugary Drink Warning Label Designs

University of Pennsylvania

Status: Completed

Conditions: Weight Gain; Obesity; Diabetes Type 2

Treatments: Behavioral: Sugary drink warning labels

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT03648138

R01DK111558 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

828087

Details and patient eligibility

About

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.

Enrollment: 1,016 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. a primary caregiver of a child 6-to-11 years old;
2. ≥18 years old; and
3. can read and speak English

Exclusion criteria

1. not a primary caregiver of a child 6-to-11 years old;
2. <18 years old; and
3. cannot read and/or speak English

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Factorial Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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1,016 participants in 4 patient groups

Calorie label

Active Comparator group

Description:

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).

Treatment:

Behavioral: Sugary drink warning labels

Text warning label

Experimental group

Description:

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.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Sugary drink warning labels

Sugar graphic warning label

Experimental group

Description:

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.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Sugary drink warning labels

Health graphic warning label

Experimental group

Description:

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.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Sugary drink warning labels