Study of Purchasing Decisions and Food Consumption: Chile

NCT04654780 | Unknown

• 1 other identifier: FONISSA17I0121
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 360
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of taxes on unhealthy foods and subsidies for healthy foods in modifying the purchasing and consumption behavior of people in the Metropolitan Region, Chile. Research hypothesis:

1. 1.The application of a tax that increases the price of "High in" foods by 20% will reduce the purchase and consumption of these foods by 24%.
2. 2.The application of a subsidy that reduces the price of fruits and vegetables by 20% will increase the purchase and consumption of these foods by 17%.
3. 3.People of lower socioeconomic status are more sensitive to price changes than people of higher socioeconomic status.
4. 4.First group of intervention (GI1): people who will make their purchases with taxes on food and beverages "High in";
5. 5.Second intervention group (GI2): people who will make their purchases with subsidies for fruits and vegetables;

Conditions

Evaluate the Effectiveness of Taxes on Unhealthy; Evaluate the Effectiveness Subsidies for Healthy Foods

Keywords

subsidies; taxes; Nutrition policy; Health policy

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• healthiness of the total shopping

  percent of total unit food items defined as healthy

  one measurement per participant (requested to purchase food for 15 days)

Study Arms (3)

tax on purchases

EXPERIMENTAL

exposed to high-price purchases of "high in" foods, including sugary drinks.

Behavioral: Taxes

subsidies on purchases

EXPERIMENTAL

exposed to purchases with prices that consider subsidies in fruits and vegetables.

Behavioral: Subsidies

Control

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

It will not be subjected to any intervention and therefore will buy with current or market prices.

Behavioral: Control

Interventions

Taxes BEHAVIORAL

a "High in" food tax will be applied to study changes in purchasing and consumption behavior of participants in this group. The tax will correspond to a 20% increase over the market price, that is, a tax that reaches the levels recommended by the WHO.

tax on purchases

Subsidies BEHAVIORAL

A subsidy will be applied to fruits and vegetables that means a reduction of 20% in their price, to study the changes in purchasing behavior and of the participants of said group.

subsidies on purchases

Control BEHAVIORAL

Average or current food prices will apply. Based on the average of the values reported by three supermarkets

Control

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• Over 18 years of age.
• Person responsible for household purchases.
• Living in a household with one or more boys or girls between 2-14 years of age

You may not qualify if:

• That in the home there are no dietary restrictions that prevent the development of this research such as eating disorders, food allergies

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Universidad Mayor: lead
• Sociedad Chilena de Pediatría: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Carolina Gamboa Vidal

Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan, Chile

RECRUITING

Related Publications (2)

• Waterlander WE, Steenhuis IH, de Boer MR, Schuit AJ, Seidell JC. Introducing taxes, subsidies or both: the effects of various food pricing strategies in a web-based supermarket randomized trial. Prev Med. 2012 May;54(5):323-30. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2012.02.009. Epub 2012 Feb 23.

  PMID: 22387008 BACKGROUND

• Waterlander WE, Steenhuis IH, de Boer MR, Schuit AJ, Seidell JC. The effects of a 25% discount on fruits and vegetables: results of a randomized trial in a three-dimensional web-based supermarket. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2012 Feb 8;9:11. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-9-11.

  PMID: 22316357 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Taxes

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Economics; Health Care Economics and Organizations

Study Officials

• Carolina G Vidal

  Escuela de Salud Pública Universidad Mayor, Chile

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Carolina G Vidal

CONTACT

223281749; carolina.vidal@umayor.cl

Patricia M Caro

CONTACT

223281749; patricia.caro@umayor.cl

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Masking Details: The participants were masked to the nature of the price sets to which they were assigned (although they were obviously exposed to the prices in the virtual supermarket). They were informed in the informed consent that the study was to evaluate fiscal policies.
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Model Details: Experimental design that simulates real purchase scenarios to evaluate the effects of a fiscal policy on purchase intention. Participants will be randomly assigned to the different intervention and control groups. Each participant must make a purchase in the virtual supermarket. The study groups used in this research : 1. First intervention group (IG1), a "High in" food tax will be applied to study the changes in the purchasing and consumption behavior of the participants in this group. The tax will correspond to a 20% increase over the market price, that is, a tax that reaches the levels recommended by the WHO. 2. second intervention group (IG2), a subsidy will be applied to fruits and vegetables that means a reduction of 20% in their price, to study the changes in the purchasing and consumption behavior of the participants of said group. 3. control group (CG) the market or current prices of "High in" foods and subsidies of fruits and vegetables will be applied.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 24, 2020
• First Posted: December 4, 2020
• Study Start: November 5, 2020
• Primary Completion: January 5, 2021
• Study Completion: January 13, 2021
• Last Updated: December 4, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-12

Locations

CL (1)