Attitudes and Understanding of Plant Sterol Claims on Food Labels

NCT01932840 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: AFMnet-01
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 1,017
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Daily consumption of plant sterols have been demonstrated to lower blood cholesterol. The Canadian government has recently allowed plant sterols to be added to certain foods and has also approved a disease risk reduction claim to be allowed on products containing plant sterols. However, it is unknown how Canadian consumers respond to plant sterol claims. The objective of this study was to evaluate the attitudes and understanding of different types of plant sterol claims on food labels

Conditions

General Population; Consumer Research

Keywords

attitudes and understanding of plant sterol claims; general Canadian population

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Response to survey questions measuring attitudes towards plant sterol claims using 5-point likert rating scales

  Within a online survey, participants were exposed to 4 mock margarine packages that differed only by the claim it carried. After being exposed to each mock package, participants were asked to rate their perceived attractiveness, healthiness, credibility, usefulness of the tested plant sterol claims using 5-point likert scales. Participants were also asked to rate their purchasing intentions of the mock margarine product with the different plant sterol claims.

  On average the survey took 25 min to complete

• Response to survey questions evaluating participants understanding of plant sterol claims

  After each mock package, understanding of plant sterol claims was evaluated using various survey methods. First, participants were asked to rate their perceived clarity of the wording of the claim using a 5-point likert scale (a subjective measure of understanding). Second, participants were ask to rate, on 5-point likert scales, the perceived benefit of consuming the mock margarine package for subgroups with different health conditions (an indirect measure of understanding). Finally we asked participants, in an open ended question, to explain what a claim means to a friend (an objective measure of understanding).

  On average the survey took 25 minutes to complete

Study Arms (1)

Canadian Consumer Monitor Panel

Canadian Consumer Monitor Panel is an online panel which answer surveys every 8-10 weeks about diet and health

Behavioral: Mock package questionnaire

Interventions

Mock package questionnaire BEHAVIORAL

Within a online questionnaire we exposed participants randomly to 4 mock margarine packages differing only by the claim it carried and asked participants to answer several questions on attitudes and understanding after each mock package.

Canadian Consumer Monitor Panel

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 20 Years - 69 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

A subsection of the Canadian Consumer Monitor Panel - a national representative online consumer panel comprised of 30,000 Canadians

You may qualify if:

• Primary grocery shoppers
• Canadian adults between the ages 20 to 69 years

You may not qualify if:

• Did not have an active email address or access to internet

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Toronto: lead
• Advance Foods and Materials Network: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Guelph

Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Behavior

Study Officials

• Mary R L'Abbé, PhD

  University of Toronto

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: ECOLOGIC OR COMMUNITY
• Time Perspective: CROSS SECTIONAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Earle W. McHenry Professor and Chair, Department of Nutritional Sciences

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 27, 2013
• First Posted: August 30, 2013
• Study Start: September 1, 2011
• Primary Completion: October 1, 2011
• Study Completion: October 1, 2011
• Last Updated: August 30, 2013

Record last verified: 2013-08

Locations

CA (1)