NCT04716010

Brief Summary

Purpose: To assess the impact of taxes, warnings, and a combination of taxes and warnings on US adults' decisions to purchase products that contain red meat in an online grocery store. Procedures (methods): Participants will be recruited from Prime Panels (an online panel research company). Following online consent, participants will be assigned to one of four trial arms: 1) Control (no warning and no tax), 2) Warnings (all products that contain red meat have a health warning and environmental warning), 3) Tax (30% tax on products that contain red meat), and 4) Combined warning and tax (all products that contain red meat will have the two warnings and a 30% tax). Then, participant will enter an online grocery store reflecting their assigned arm. The participant will be instructed to complete a shopping task in the online grocery store. After completing the shopping task, participants will be redirected to an online survey and answer a series of questions about the shopping task, labels (excluding tax and control groups), and taxes (excluding warning and control groups). Questions will also include standard demographic and health related variables.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
4,160

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Oct 2021

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

January 14, 2021

Completed
6 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

January 20, 2021

Completed
9 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

October 18, 2021

Completed
10 days until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

October 28, 2021

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

October 28, 2021

Completed
11 months until next milestone

Results Posted

Study results publicly available

September 9, 2022

Completed
Last Updated

August 18, 2023

Status Verified

August 1, 2021

Enrollment Period

10 days

First QC Date

January 14, 2021

Results QC Date

August 12, 2022

Last Update Submit

August 3, 2023

Conditions

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

  • Count of Products That Contain Red Meat

    The number of products in a participant's shopping basket that contain red meat.

    At completion of ~15 minute shopping task

  • Percentage of Red Meat Containing Products

    The percentage of products in a participant's shopping basket that contain red meat.

    At completion of ~15 minute shopping task

Secondary Outcomes (15)

  • Total Saturated Fat

    At completion of ~15 minute shopping task

  • Total Sodium

    At completion of ~15 minute shopping task

  • Total Calories

    At completion of ~15 minute shopping task

  • Perceived Healthfulness

    ~15 minutes post-test computer survey following the ~15 minute shopping task

  • Perceived Cancer Risk

    ~15 minutes post-test computer survey following the ~15 minute shopping task

  • +10 more secondary outcomes

Other Outcomes (5)

  • Percentage of Participants Who Support Tax

    ~15 minutes post-test computer survey following the ~15 minute shopping task

  • Percentage of Participants Who Support Health Warning Label

    ~15 minutes post-test computer survey following the ~15 minute shopping task

  • Percentage of Participants Who Support Environmental Warning Label

    ~15 minutes post-test computer survey following the ~15 minute shopping task

  • +2 more other outcomes

Study Arms (4)

Control

OTHER

Products that contain red meat will not have warning labels or an increase in price.

Other: Control

Warning Labels

EXPERIMENTAL

The warning labels are black octagons with white text that appear next to images of products that contain red meat. One label says "WARNING: Eating red meat contributes to colon and rectal cancer" and the other label says "WARNING: Eating red meat harms the environment."

Other: Warning Labels

Tax

EXPERIMENTAL

The tax is a 30% increase in the price of products that contain red meat.

Other: Tax

Combined Warning Labels and Tax

EXPERIMENTAL

The Combined Warning Labels and Tax arm features both the warning labels and tax. The warning labels are black octagons with white text that appear next to images of products that contain red meat. One label says "WARNING: Eating red meat contributes to colon and rectal cancer" and the other label says "WARNING: Eating red meat harms the environment." The tax is a 30% increase in the price of red meat products.

Other: Combined Warning Labels and Tax

Interventions

ControlOTHER

Participants will complete a shopping task in the online grocery store, and the products that contain red meat will not have warning labels or a 30% increase in price.

Control

While completing the shopping task in the online grocery store, the health and environmental warning labels will appear next to the image of every product that contains red meat.

Warning Labels
TaxOTHER

While completing the shopping task in the online grocery store, all products containing red meat will have a 30% increase in price.

Tax

While completing the shopping task in the online grocery store, all products containing red meat will have the health and environmental warning labels appear next to the product image and a 30% increase in price.

Combined Warning Labels and Tax

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years+
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • years or older
  • Consumes red meat at least once per week.
  • Responsible for at least 50% of grocery shopping for the household.
  • Lives in the United States

You may not qualify if:

  • Individuals who have participated in research studies from previous aims of this research.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Carolina Population Center

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27516, United States

Location

Related Publications (2)

  • Willits-Smith A, Taillie LS, Jaacks LM, Frank SM, Grummon AH. Effects of red meat taxes and warning labels on food groups selected in a randomized controlled trial. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2024 Apr 15;21(1):39. doi: 10.1186/s12966-024-01584-9.

  • Taillie LS, Bercholz M, Prestemon CE, Higgins ICA, Grummon AH, Hall MG, Jaacks LM. Impact of taxes and warning labels on red meat purchases among US consumers: A randomized controlled trial. PLoS Med. 2023 Sep 18;20(9):e1004284. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004284. eCollection 2023 Sep.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Colonic NeoplasmsRectal Neoplasms

Interventions

Taxes

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Colorectal NeoplasmsIntestinal NeoplasmsGastrointestinal NeoplasmsDigestive System NeoplasmsNeoplasms by SiteNeoplasmsDigestive System DiseasesGastrointestinal DiseasesColonic DiseasesIntestinal DiseasesRectal Diseases

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

EconomicsHealth Care Economics and Organizations

Results Point of Contact

Title
Lindsey Smith Taillie, PhD
Organization
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Study Officials

  • Lindsey S Taillie, PhD

    University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
  • Lindsay Jaacks, PhD

    University of Edinburgh

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

PI is Sponsor Employee
Yes

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
PREVENTION
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

January 14, 2021

First Posted

January 20, 2021

Study Start

October 18, 2021

Primary Completion

October 28, 2021

Study Completion

October 28, 2021

Last Updated

August 18, 2023

Results First Posted

September 9, 2022

Record last verified: 2021-08

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will share

A deidentified dataset and the survey codebook will be published to the Harvard Dataverse. The study protocol and statistical analysis plan will be published as supporting information with the study results in a peer-reviewed journal.

Shared Documents
STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP
Time Frame
The deidentified dataset and corresponding survey codebook will be available upon publication of study results and will remain on the Harvard Dataverse indefinitely.
Access Criteria
Anyone who wishes to access the data.
More information

Locations