Effects of Sugary Drink Warning Labels on Parent Choices

Not Applicable

Terminated

• Conditions: Food Preferences
• Interventions: Behavioral: Exposure to sugar-sweetened beverage warning labels; Behavioral: Exposure to beverage calorie information

• Registration Number: NCT04259385
• Lead Sponsor: University of Pennsylvania

Brief Summary

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are a significant contributor to adult and childhood obesity. Policies to place health warning labels on sugar-sweetened beverages are being pursued, but there is little empirical data on how such labels influence people. The proposed research will evaluate the impact of different types of sugar-sweetened beverage warning labels relative to standard calorie labels on the purchasing and consumption behaviors of parents and children.

Detailed Description

The primary objective of this proposal is to determine, before wide-scale implementation, to what degree SSB warning labels increase consumers' knowledge about the potential health harms of SSBs and reduce SSB intake. The study is designed to answer two additional questions: 1) Do some warning labels work better than others? 3) If warning labels influence behavior, is it because they increase knowledge or simply provide a salient reminder that some drinks are less healthy? This aim is designed to test the effect of warning labels on total kilocalories (kcals) purchased and consumed by parents and children. We will examine how SSB warning labels influence snack and beverage purchases and intake among 405 racially and ethnically diverse parent-child pairs.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2020-02-04
• Study First Submitted QC: 2020-02-04
• Study First Posted: 2020-02-06
• Study Start: 2020-03-11
• Primary Completion: 2020-03-12
• Study Completion: 2020-03-12
• Status Verified: 2021-09
• Last Update Submitted: 2021-09-13
• Last Update Posted: 2021-09-20

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: TERMINATED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 1

Inclusion Criteria

• Participant pairs must be:
• Primary caregiver of a child 6-11 years old; 18 years or older; can read and speak English; did not participate in related studies from our group
• Child is between 6 and 11 years old; drinks SSBs at least 12 times per month (~3 times per week)

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Exclusion Criteria

• Unable to participate in person in Philadelphia
• Parent did not purchase food and beverage for their child
• Parent or caregiver refused to give child permission to participate

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Text Warning Label Condition	Exposure to beverage calorie information	Sugary beverages at the concession stand and in the parent survey in this arm will display both a text warning and a calorie label.
Sugar Graphic Label Condition	Exposure to sugar-sweetened beverage warning labels	Sugary beverages at the concession stand and in the parent survey in this arm will display a sugar graphic warning label depicting the amount of sugar in the product, the same text warning, and a calorie label.
Calorie/Control Label Condition	Exposure to beverage calorie information	Beverages at the concession stand and in the parent survey in this arm will display solely a calorie label.
Text Warning Label Condition	Exposure to sugar-sweetened beverage warning labels	Sugary beverages at the concession stand and in the parent survey in this arm will display both a text warning and a calorie label.
Sugar Graphic Label Condition	Exposure to beverage calorie information	Sugary beverages at the concession stand and in the parent survey in this arm will display a sugar graphic warning label depicting the amount of sugar in the product, the same text warning, and a calorie label.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Total calories the child consumes	Study visit, one hour	Total number of calories consumed by the child for all food and beverages (summed) during the study visit
Total beverage calories purchased for the child	Study visit, one hour	Total number of calories for all beverages purchased for the child during the study visit
Total calories purchased for the child	Study visit, one hour	Total number of calories for all food and beverages (summed) purchased for the child during the study visit

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Total beverage calories purchased for the adult	Study visit, one hour	Total number of calories for all beverages purchased for the adult during the study visit
Total calories purchased for the adult	Study visit, one hour	Total number of calories for all food and beverages (summed) purchased for the adult during the study visit
Beverage calories the child consumes	Study visit, one hour	Total number of calories consumed by the child for all beverages during the study visit
Beverage calories the adult consumes	Study visit, one hour	Total number of calories consumed by the adult for all beverages during the study visit
Total calories the adult consumes	Study visit, one hour	Total number of calories consumed by the adult for all food and beverages (summed) during the study visit

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of Pennsylvania; 🇺🇸 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States