Nudging Nutrition With Monetary Incentives Environmental Cues

Sponsor

Cornell University (Other)

Overall Status

Completed

CT.gov ID

NCT02461108

Collaborator

National Institutes of Health (NIH) (NIH), Ohio State University (Other), Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (NIH)

221

Enrollment

Location

Arms

Duration (Months)

20.1

Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

The investigators hypothesize that monetary incentives and messaging, such as making nutritious foods relatively less expensive than less nutritious foods and framing the price difference in a positive or negative way, will influence purchasing behavior of households.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Obesity Food Labeling Health Behavior Diet	Behavioral: Subsidy Behavioral: Tax Behavioral: Tax and subsidy	N/A

Detailed Description

In this study, 239 loyalty card shoppers were recruited at Hannaford grocery stores to participate in a study in which a 10% price difference between nutritious and less nutritious foods was introduced. and then framed as a subsidy, tax, or a combination of a tax and subsidy. To determine whether or not the framing of the price difference influenced purchasing behavior, the difference was framed as a subsidy on nutritious foods, a tax on less nutritious foods, and a combination of a tax and subsidy on less nutritious and nutritious foods, respectively. The purpose of this study was to examine the general impact of this price difference on purchases of nutritious and less nutritious foods, and whether or not the framing of the price difference had a differential effect on behavior.

Study Design

Study Type:

Interventional

Actual Enrollment :

221 participants

Allocation:

Randomized

Intervention Model:

Factorial Assignment

Masking:

Double (Participant, Investigator)

Official Title:

Nudging Nutrition: Evaluating the Impact of Monetary Incentives and Environmental Cues on Food Choices

Study Start Date :

May 1, 2010

Actual Primary Completion Date :

Mar 1, 2011

Actual Study Completion Date :

Apr 1, 2011

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/Treatment
Experimental: Price difference Introduce a 10% price difference between foods labeled as nutritious and foods labeled as less nutritious and frame the price difference as either a Subsidy, Tax, or combination of a Tax and Subsidy.	Behavioral: Subsidy Frame the price difference as a 10% subsidy on nutritious food items. Behavioral: Tax Frame the price difference as a 10% tax on less nutritious food items. Behavioral: Tax and subsidy Frame the price difference as a 5% tax on less nutritious food items and a 5% subsidy on nutritious food items, creating a 10% relative price difference between the types of foods.
No Intervention: No price difference No price difference between nutritious and less nutritious foods.

Arm

Intervention/Treatment

Experimental: Price difference

Introduce a 10% price difference between foods labeled as nutritious and foods labeled as less nutritious and frame the price difference as either a Subsidy, Tax, or combination of a Tax and Subsidy.

Behavioral: Subsidy

Frame the price difference as a 10% subsidy on nutritious food items.

Behavioral: Tax

Frame the price difference as a 10% tax on less nutritious food items.

Behavioral: Tax and subsidy

Frame the price difference as a 5% tax on less nutritious food items and a 5% subsidy on nutritious food items, creating a 10% relative price difference between the types of foods.

No Intervention: No price difference

No price difference between nutritious and less nutritious foods.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

Change in expenditures on nutritious and less nutritious foods [8 months]
Item level transaction data were collected for each participant between mid-July 2010 and mid-March 2011. These data included expenditures on all items purchased in the store. Average weekly expenditures were generated and reported in Aug 2011.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Change in quantities purchased of nutritious and less nutritious foods [8 months]
Item level transaction data were collected for each participant between mid-July 2010 and mid-March 2011. These data included quantities of all items purchased in the store. Average weekly quantities purchased were generated and reported in Aug 2011.
Change in expenditures on nutritious and less nutritious foods in specific food categories. [8 months]
Item level transaction data were collected for each participant between mid-July 2010 and mid-March 2011. These data included expenditures on all items purchased in the store, as well as the specific product type. With this information, product groupings can be created, such as for dairy, candy, and fresh produce. Average weekly expenditures for these groupings were generated and reported in July 2012.

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:

18 Years to 70 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study:

All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Yes

Inclusion Criteria:

Loyalty card shoppers at Hannaford grocery stores

Exclusion Criteria:

No children in household
Less than 75% of food purchases made at Hannaford grocery stores

Contacts and Locations

Locations

	Site	City	State	Country	Postal Code
1	New York City School District	New York City	New York	United States

Sponsors and Collaborators

Cornell University
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Ohio State University
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)