Randomized Trial of Financial Incentives to Reduce Sugar-sweetened Beverage Purchases by Low-income, Latino Families

NCT01990508 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 2013P001130
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 216
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Approximately 15% of the US population is enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and 50% are children. Although the goal is to improve nutritional health, preliminary data suggest that enrollment in SNAP is associated with obesity and metabolic risks and that SNAP reimburses $4 billion annually for sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). This pilot project tests an innovative strategy to reduce purchase of non-nutritive, SSBs by low-income families with children by combining targeted point-of-purchase education with a randomized trial of financial incentives to discourage purchase of unhealthy beverages. The study will take place at a mid-size grocery store that is located in a low-income, Latino community and where 30% of purchases are made with SNAP. Targeted beverage education will be provided to all study subjects with a traffic-light system to identify healthy and unhealthy beverages at the point-of-purchase. Individual beverage purchases will be tracked by electronically stored cash register sales. Supplementary validation of beverage consumption will be assessed by 24 hour dietary recall. Aim 1 is to conduct a randomized controlled trial to compare purchase and consumption of SSBs by families assigned to a financial incentive to reduce purchase of SSBs with families assigned to control (no incentives). Aim 2 is to compare the purchase of SSBs by families in both arms during the study period when they are exposed to the traffic-light system to a baseline period prior to traffic-light education. Results of this project will provide pilot data for larger scale interventions to promote healthy choices among low-income families.

Conditions

Obesity Prevention

Keywords

sugar-sweetened beverages; traffic-light labels; financial incentives; low-income community; obesity prevention

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Purchase of sugar-sweetened beverages

  4 months

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages

  4 months

Other Outcomes (1)

• Purchase of red-labeled beverages

  6 months

Study Arms (2)

Targeted beverage education and financial incentives

EXPERIMENTAL

Study subjects receive monthly letters with beverage education and financial incentives for not purchasing sugar-sweetened beverages

Behavioral: Targeted beverage education and financial incentives; Behavioral: Traffic-light labeling of all beverages in store

Control

SHAM COMPARATOR

Monthly letters with generic nutrition information only

Behavioral: Traffic-light labeling of all beverages in store

Interventions

Targeted beverage education and financial incentives BEHAVIORAL

Targeted beverage education and financial incentives

Traffic-light labeling of all beverages in store BEHAVIORAL

All beverages in the supermarket will be labeled as red, yellow, or green

Control; Targeted beverage education and financial incentives

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• purchase \>75% of groceries at targeted supermarket (regular customer)
• at least one child \<= 18 years old living at home

You may not qualify if:

• not fluent in Spanish or English
• no address or phone for contact

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Massachusetts General Hospital: lead
• Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Massachusetts General Hospital

Boston, Massachusetts, 02114, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Franckle RL, Levy DE, Macias-Navarro L, Rimm EB, Thorndike AN. Traffic-light labels and financial incentives to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage purchases by low-income Latino families: a randomized controlled trial. Public Health Nutr. 2018 Jun;21(8):1426-1434. doi: 10.1017/S1368980018000319. Epub 2018 Mar 1.

  PMID: 29493476 DERIVED

Study Officials

• Anne N Thorndike, MD, MPH

  Massachusetts General Hospital

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor of Medicine

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 15, 2013
• First Posted: November 21, 2013
• Study Start: January 1, 2014
• Primary Completion: September 1, 2014
• Study Completion: September 1, 2014
• Last Updated: October 6, 2015

Record last verified: 2015-10

Locations

US (1)