Effects of UPF Warning Labels on Social Media Among Teens and Young Adults

For each social media post, participants will be asked whether they think the product is ultra-processed. Response options will be "yes", "no", or "I don't know". Consumer understanding will be coded as a binary outcome: "yes" = correct; "no" and "I don't know" = incorrect.

For each social media post, participants will be asked how likely they would buy the product in the next week, either in-store or online. Response options will be on a 1-5 Likert scale, with 5 being "very likely". Higher scores indicate higher intentions to purchase the product.

For each social media post, participants will be asked how healthy the product seems to them. Responses options will be on a 1-5 Likert scale, with 5 indicating "very healthy". Higher scores indicate higher perceived healthfulness.

After viewing all four social media posts, all participants will be shown the UPF warning label (regardless of condition) and asked whether the UPF warning labels make them feel "less in control of making healthy eating decision," "neither less nor more in control or making healthy eating decisions," or "more in control of making healthy eating decisions." Responses will be binary coded: "more in control" = 1; "less" or "neither" = 0.

After viewing all four social media posts, all participants will be shown the UPF warning label (regardless of condition) and asked whether they support or oppose a policy requiring these labels on social media advertisements for ultra-processed foods and beverages. Response options will be on a 1-5 Likert scale, with 5 indicating "Strongly support." Higher scores will indicate higher support for warning labels.