Participants will be asked to make hypothetical food choices in an online simulation study of an OOH delivery app. This study will be a three-arm randomised controlled design, with intervention type as the 3-level grouping variable (Nutri-score labelling vs. Nutri-score labelling with educational intervention vs. no labelling).
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
870
Participants will be asked to choose a meal through a virtual delivery app where four outlets are presented. Participants will be provided with a menu with calorie labelling.
Participants will be asked to choose a meal through a virtual delivery app where four outlets are presented. Participants will be given menus with calorie and Nutri-score labelling.
Participants will be asked to choose a meal through a virtual delivery app where four outlets are presented. Participants will be given menus with calorie and Nutri-score labelling. Prior to selecting their meal, participants will be asked to read an article about Nutri-score.
University of Liverpool
Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom
Healthiness of selected meal
In line with published research into Nutri-score, the investigators will assess the healthiness of meals using UK Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) scores(16). These scores are calculated in a similar way to Nutri-score, whereby the total value of positive nutrients is subtracted from the total value of negative nutrients. Lower scores represent healthier items. Scores range from -15 (healthiest) to 40 (least healthy). To account for the likely event of multiple items being selected to form a meal, the investigators will calculate a mean NPM score, weighted by the energy content of individual food items. This will be done using the 'weighted.mean'(37) function in R grouped by participant so the weights are specific to individual orders. The following code will be used for this: weighted\_ppt\<-combine %\>% group\_by(ppt) %\>% summarise(score = weighted.mean(nutriscore, meal\_kcal))
Time frame: Day 1 of 1: Food orders (item names, energy content, UK Nutrient Profiling Model scores) will be recorded immediately after the baseline questionnaire. The recorded information will be used to calculate weighted NPM scores.
Nutri-score label of selected food items
Nutri-score values of each menu item were calculated prior to creating the online ordering platform. To calculate overall scores, the total value of positive nutrients is subtracted from the total value of negative nutrients. Lower scores represent healthier items. Thresholds are used to dictate the Nutri-score value assigned to items, with A (healthiest) to E (least healthy) When participants complete the food choice task, the Nutri-score labels (A-E) of each item selected by participants will be recorded by the online platform.
Time frame: Day 1 of 1: Food orders (item names, NS values) will be recorded immediately after the baseline questionnaire when participants select their food orders.
Energy content of all food ordered
The total energy content (kcal) of food items selected by participants will be recorded by the online study platform. Nutritional information to inform this was taken from the food outlet websites.
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Time frame: Day 1 of 1: The energy content selected by participants will be recorded immediately after the baseline questionnaire when participants select their food orders.