NCT04919668

Brief Summary

The overall objective of this research is to evaluate the impact of gamification on the diet quality of food choices made by American adults in an online grocery shopping experiment. Participants will shop for 12 food items from a grocery shopping list determined by the research team in a simulated online grocery store designed for this experiment. Each product has a nutritional quality score based on the Guiding Stars algorithm. The experiment tests the gamification of the nutritional quality score. Participants exposed to gamification see one to five crowns illustrating the nutritional quality of the food and a scoreboard indicating the total number of crowns from foods in the participant's shopping basket. Participants will be assigned to experimental conditions of gamification (game or no game) and a fictitious budget ($30 or $50). The investigators will test if the game and the budget affect the dietary quality of their final shopping baskets. The experiment is a 2x2 experimental design. The investigators hypothesize that the presence of gamification will change the dietary quality of participants' final shopping baskets. The investigators hypothesize that a higher budget will change the dietary quality of the final shopping basket. The investigators also hypothesize that the game and higher budget together will change the dietary quality of the final shopping basket.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

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

Enrollment
1,185

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Jun 2021

Shorter than P25 for not_applicable

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

May 27, 2021

Completed
13 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

June 9, 2021

Completed
21 days until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

June 30, 2021

Completed
28 days until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

July 28, 2021

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

July 28, 2021

Completed
Last Updated

October 1, 2021

Status Verified

September 1, 2021

Enrollment Period

28 days

First QC Date

May 27, 2021

Last Update Submit

September 29, 2021

Conditions

Keywords

Gamification

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Total number of crowns

    Sum of number of crowns of foods included in the final shopping basket for each participant

    One hour

Secondary Outcomes (1)

  • Number of crowns

    One hour

Other Outcomes (2)

  • Total Guiding Stars points

    One hour

  • Guiding Stars points

    One hour

Study Arms (4)

Low budget; no game

SHAM COMPARATOR

Participants will be asked to shop for 12 list items in the simulated grocery store without game elements (crowns and scoreboards) displayed. They will be given a low budget of $30.

Behavioral: Simulated grocery shopping exercise

High budget; no game

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants will be asked to shop for 12 list items in the simulated grocery store without game elements (crowns and scoreboards) displayed. They will be given a high budget of $50.

Behavioral: Simulated grocery shopping exercise

Low budget; game

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants will be asked to shop for 12 list items in the simulated grocery store with game elements (crowns and scoreboards) displayed. They will be given a low budget of $30.

Behavioral: Simulated grocery shopping exercise

High budget; game

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants will be asked to shop for 12 list items in the simulated grocery store with game elements (crowns and scoreboards) displayed. They will be given a high budget of $50.

Behavioral: Simulated grocery shopping exercise

Interventions

Participants will click a link and simulate an online grocery shopping experience by selecting items for 12 grocery categories.

High budget; gameHigh budget; no gameLow budget; gameLow budget; no game

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

  • Participants who had 12 items in their final shopping cart.
  • Participants who had less than four items from the same food subcategory in their final shopping basket.
  • Participants who spent 120% or less of the budget assigned to them.
  • Aged 18 or older
  • Have access to a personal computer, laptop, tablet, or mobile phone.
  • Participants who were in the US when participating in the study.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Tufts University

Boston, Massachusetts, 02111, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

  • Braga BC, Cash SB, Sarson K, Chang R, Mosca A, Wilson NLW. The gamification of nutrition labels to encourage healthier food selection in online grocery shopping: A randomized controlled trial. Appetite. 2023 Sep 1;188:106610. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2023.106610. Epub 2023 Jun 2.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Food PreferencesFeeding Behavior

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

BehaviorBehavior, Animal

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
DOUBLE
Who Masked
PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR
Purpose
PREVENTION
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Professor

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

May 27, 2021

First Posted

June 9, 2021

Study Start

June 30, 2021

Primary Completion

July 28, 2021

Study Completion

July 28, 2021

Last Updated

October 1, 2021

Record last verified: 2021-09

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will share

Deidentified individual participant data collected in this experiment will be shared upon reasonable request.

Shared Documents
STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF
Time Frame
Beginning 9 months and ending 36 months following article publication, or as required by a condition of awards and agreements supporting the research.
Access Criteria
Data will be available upon reasonable request. Proposals may be submitted up to 36 months of article publication. After 36 months, the data will be available at Tufts University data warehouse but without investigator support other than deposited metadata.

Locations