The Menu Labels for Environmental Impact and Nutrition Study (MENU Study): Online Experiment
试验速览
- 阶段
- 不适用
- 状态
- 已完成
- 入组人数
- 6,294
- 试验地点
- 1
- 主要终点
- Modified Nutrient Profile Index score
研究概览
简要总结
The primary objective of this study is to test the relative effects of climate-impact menu label designs on the healthfulness of consumers' fast-food meal choices. Participants will complete hypothetical online meal ordering tasks using a survey which emulates the online menus of two types of fast-food chain restaurants: a burger restaurant and a sandwich restaurant. Participants will be randomized the view both menus, presented in random order, with one of five labeling conditions applied. Secondary objectives include examining total greenhouse gas emissions per meal order, energy and nutrient content of meals ordered, prices of meals ordered, and, through a post-order survey, noticeability, and perceptions, and knowledge and understanding of labels between the conditions.
详细描述
This online randomized trial will test the relative effects of climate impact menu label designs on the healthfulness of consumers' fast-food meal choices and perceptions of menu items. The survey research firm National Opinion Research Center (NORC) will recruit a nationally representative sample of 6,000 adults aged 18 years and older who speak English and reside in the United States from the Center's AmeriSpeak Panel.
Participants will complete a between-subjects online experiment in which the participants will be randomized to view two fast-food online ordering menus (in randomized order) with one of five labeling schemes applied: (1) a QR code on all items (control); (2) a low climate impact label on all low impact items (3) a high climate impact label on high impact items; (4) traffic light labels on all items by level of impact; and (5) climate grade labels on all items by level of impact. Each restaurant menu will be presented across 2 pages; page 1 will display all main items, and page 2 will display categories for side, dessert, and drink items. Labels will only appear alongside main menu items and will be assigned using thresholds for greenhouse gas emissions set a priori in kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent per kilogram of food. Each hypothetical order must include between 1 and 4 items. Participants will be required to select 1 main item and, optionally, up to 3 additional items (drinks, sides, desserts). After completing the meal ordering task, participants will be prompted to answer questions about the whether the participant noticed the correct label for the participant's condition, whether the participant used the label when making meal selections, perceptions of the labeled menu items and the labeling condition which the participants were randomized to view, knowledge of the relative climate impact of food items and consumer behaviors, and support of governmental and policies and practices regarding food and nutrition. Additionally, participants will be asked about level of food security, use of GLP-1 agonists, personal values, dietary patterns, and other demographic information. Participation in the study will last approximately 10 minutes.
The primary outcome will be the healthfulness of meal orders selected from the online menu, indicated by a modified Nutrient Profile Index meal score for all food items ordered. Secondary outcomes will be total greenhouse gas emissions per meal ordered, total calories ordered, whether a sugar-sweetened beverage was ordered, and perceived message effectiveness of the climate-impact labels.
Analyses will be conducted overall (summing the meal selections across both restaurants) and stratified by restaurant.
研究设计
- 研究类型
- Interventional
- 分配方式
- Randomized
- 干预模型
- Parallel
- 主要目的
- Prevention
- 盲法
- None
入排标准
- 年龄范围
- 18 Years 至 —（Adult, Older Adult）
- 性别
- All
- 接受健康志愿者
- 是
入选标准
- •18 years of age or older
- •Member of the NORC AmeriSpeak Panel
- •Residing in the United States
排除标准
- •<18 years of age
- •Not residing in the United States
- •Completed the survey in less than one-third of the median completion duration of all participants
- •Respondents with high refusal rates (skipped or refused more than 50% of questions)
研究组 & 干预措施
Control (QR) Labels
A black label featuring a QR code and white text that reads "SCAN HERE" will be placed beneath all main menu items on two restaurant menus. Explanatory text describing the label's meaning will be displayed at the top of the menu.
干预措施: Control (QR) Labels (Behavioral)
Low Climate Impact Labels
A green icon-plus-text label that reads "LOW CLIMATE IMPACT" in white text against a green background will be placed on two restaurant menus beneath main menu items with a low climate impact using a predetermined threshold of estimated greenhouse gas emissions set at <2.6 kgCO2e. Labels will include a white globe icon directly preceding the label text. Explanatory text describing the label's meaning will be displayed at the top of the menu.
干预措施: Low Climate Impact Labels (Behavioral)
High Climate Impact Labels
A red icon-plus-text label that reads "HIGH CLIMATE IMPACT" in white text against a red background will be placed on two restaurant menus beneath main menu items with a high climate impact using a predetermined threshold of estimated greenhouse gas emissions set at >=9.2 kgCO2e. Labels will include a white globe icon directly preceding the label text. Explanatory text describing the label's meaning will be displayed at the top of the menu.
干预措施: High Climate Impact Labels (Behavioral)
Traffic Light Labels
Traffic Light labels will be placed on two restaurant menus beneath all main menu items. Using predetermined estimated greenhouse gas emission thresholds, each item will be assigned one of three icon-plus-text labels within this scheme: low-, medium-, or high-impact label, set in kgCO2e at <2.6, >=2.6 & <9.2, and >=9.2, respectively. Each will read, "HIGH CLIMATE IMPACT" within a red label, "MED. CLIMATE IMPACT" in a yellow label, and "LOW CLIMATE IMPACT" in a green label. Text for all labels written in white, and a white globe icon will precede the text. Explanatory text describing the meaning of the labels will be displayed at the top of the menu.
干预措施: Traffic Light Labels (Behavioral)
Climate Grade Labels
Climate Grade labels will be placed on two restaurant menus beneath all main menu items, using predetermined estimated greenhouse gas emission thresholds to assign one of five icon-plus-text labels which indicate a specific climate impact grade (A, B, C, D, and F). Thresholds are set in kgCO2e as follows: [A] <1.7, [B] >=1.7 & <2.6, [C] >=2.6 & <9.2, [D] >=9.2 & <28, [F] >=28. All labels are solid black with a white globe icon followed by white text which reads "CLIMATE GRADE". On the left side of each label, a grade is displayed, capitalized and in a white font within a solid-colored box. The color of the box corresponds with each letter grade: A = dark green, B = light green, C = yellow, D = orange, F = red. Beneath the letter grade, a gradient of all possible grades is displayed horizontally in smaller font, each grade atop a small solid box in the respective grade color. Explanatory text describing the meaning of the labels will be displayed at the top of the menu.
干预措施: Climate Grade Labels (Behavioral)
结局指标
主要结局
Modified Nutrient Profile Index score
时间窗: During online survey ordering task, up to 10 minutes
Healthfulness of fast-food meal selections, measured with a modified Nutrient Profile Index (NPI) score. NPI scores are based on the United Kingdom (UK) Ofcom Nutrient Profiling Model, which is used to score individual foods in the UK to determine which ones can be marketed to children. The NPI is a 0 to 100-point score for foods; a score of \>=64 is considered healthy. NPI awards points from nutrients to encourage (e.g., fiber, protein) and nutrients of concern (e.g., sodium, sugar) per 100 grams. The investigators will generate a modified NPI score to evaluate the healthfulness of full meals comprised of multiple food items. This measure will be determined by calculating the weighted mean NPI score of all food items selected per meal, with each item's NPI score weighted by its proportionate contribution of mass in grams to the total mass of the meal. Beverages are excluded and assessed through secondary outcomes.
次要结局
- Total amount of sodium (milligrams) selected(During online survey ordering task, up to 10 minutes)
- Nutrient Profile Index score(During online survey ordering task, up to 10 minutes)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions(During online survey ordering task, up to 10 minutes)
- Frequency of red meat selected(During online survey ordering task, up to 10 minutes)
- Total energy selected (number of calories)(During online survey ordering task, up to 10 minutes)
- Total amount of saturated fat (grams) selected(During online survey ordering task, up to 10 minutes)
- Total amount of sugar (grams) selected(During online survey ordering task, up to 10 minutes)
- Total amount of protein (grams) selected(During online survey ordering task, up to 10 minutes)
- Total amount of fiber (grams) selected(During online survey ordering task, up to 10 minutes)
- Frequency of sugar-sweetened beverage selected(During online survey ordering task, up to 10 minutes)
- Percentage of participants with knowledge of the climate impact of foods(During online survey post-ordering task, up to 10 minutes)
- Percentage of participants with knowledge of the climate impact of menu items(During online survey post-ordering task, up to 10 minutes)
- Frequency of participants with attention to labels(During online survey post-ordering task, up to 10 minutes)
- Frequency of participants who recall labels that also correctly identify purpose of labels(During online survey post-ordering task, up to 10 minutes)
- Perceived message effectiveness (PME) as assessed by the University of North Carolina (UNC) PME scale(During online survey post-ordering task, up to 10 minutes)
- Total price of meal order(During online survey ordering task, up to 10 minutes)
- Perceived level of appeal of food items(During online survey post-ordering task, up to 10 minutes)
- Perceived level of healthfulness of food items(During online survey post-ordering task, up to 10 minutes)
- Perceived level of climate impact of food items(During online survey post-ordering task, up to 10 minutes)