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OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT05482204

Do Sustainability Labels Lead to More Sustainable and Healthier Food Choices?

This study tests the effect of two climate change menu labels, one indicating 'low climate impact' and the other indicating 'high climate impact' on ordering choices and perceptions of healthfulness of food ordered in an online randomized experiment.

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Key information

Conditions

Food Selection Attitude Behavior Feeding Behavior Food Preferences

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Baltimore, Maryland, 21205, United States

About this study

The objective of this study is to examine how climate impact menu labels influence US adults' ordering and perceptions via an online randomized experiment. Participants were randomized to view one of 3 fast food menus online and then choose an item that they would like to order. One menu 'control' had QR code labels, the second had "low climate impact" labels on items with lower greenhouse gas emissions (vegetarian, chicken or fish items), the third had "high climate impact" labels on beef items. After the ordering task participants answered questions about what label they saw on the menu, how healthy they thought the item they ordered was, and how much the label discouraged them from eating high climate impact items.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • 18 years of age or older
  • Member of the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) Amerispeak Panel

Exclusion criteria

  • <18 years of age
  • completed the survey in < 1/3 of the median duration
  • skipped or refused more than 50% of the survey questions

Treatment and study plan

Low Climate Impact label

Other

Menu labels indicating low climate impact on chicken, fish, and vegetarian food items on a simulated online fast food menu.

High Climate Impact label

Other

Menu labels indicating high climate impact on beef food items on a simulated online fast food menu.

Primary outcomes

  1. Sustainable vs. unsustainable selection from the menu

    Time frame: 1 minute

    The primary outcome is a binary indicator of whether or not the participant selected during the ordering task was a sustainable (chicken, fish, or vegetarian) menu item (1) vs. an unsustainable (beef) menu item (0).

    Before viewing the fast food menu, participants were asked to imagine they are at a restaurant and about to order dinner. They were asked to select one item they want to order for themselves. Participants could select one item to order before moving on.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Perceptions of healthfulness

    Time frame: < 1 minute

    Perceptions of how healthy the meal ordered was (on a scale of 1=very unhealthy to 7=very healthy)

  2. Perceived Message Effectiveness (PME)

    Time frame: <1 minute

    This outcomes used 1 item from the 3 item UNC-PME scale to measure how much the assigned label discouraged the participant from wanting to consume items with a high impact on climate change. Responses are measured on a 5-point Likert scale from 1=Strongly disagree to 5= strongly agree. The exact question text is: "How much do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Information on the menu discouraged me from wanting to consume menu items with a high impact on climate change."

  3. Nutrition Profile Index of ordered item

    Time frame: < 1 minute

    The Nutrition Profile Index score (0-100) of the ordered item

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Other

Collaborators

  • Time-sharing Experiments for the Social Sciences

Registry information

Acronym: Climate Labels

Important dates

Study start
2022
Primary completion
2022
Study completion
2022
First posted
Aug 1, 2022
Registry last updated
Aug 1, 2022

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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