Plant-Based Defaults

NCT06554743 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: STUDY00016889
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 365
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

In this study, participants at six different academic events were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (1) a default meat group, where the default choice was a meal with meat and participants had the option of opting out and choosing a plant-based meal; and (2) a default veg group, where the default choice was a plant-based meal with the option of opting out and choosing a meal with meat. Based on the success of prior studies that implemented plant-based defaults through preselection, we hypothesized that more participants would choose the plant-based meal when that option was set as the default, and we hypothesized that the default intervention would be equally effective across academic institutions. We also hypothesized that the default intervention would be equally effective across demographic groups, which would help to further demonstrate the generalizability of our plant-based default intervention.

Conditions

Choice Behavior; Dietary Habits

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Proportion of participants selecting the plant-based meal

  The percent (%) of participants selecting the plant-based meal option instead of the meal with meat option on the event RSVP from

  Immediately during the completion of the event RSVP form

Study Arms (2)

Default Veg

EXPERIMENTAL

Received a plant-based meal as the default option on the event RSVP form that required participants to pre-select their meal choice

Behavioral: Default Veg

Default Meat

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Received a meal with meat as the default option on the event RSVP form that required participants to pre-select their meal choice

Behavioral: Default Meat

Interventions

Default Veg BEHAVIORAL

Received a plant-based meal as the default option on the event RSVP form that required participants to pre-select their meal choice

Default Veg

Default Meat BEHAVIORAL

Received a meal with meat as the default option on the event RSVP form that required participants to pre-select their meal choice

Default Meat

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• Academic event attendee

You may not qualify if:

• None

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Arizona State University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Arizona State University

Phoenix, Arizona, 85004, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Zhang AW, Wharton C, Cloonan S, Boronowsky R, Magesh V, Braverman I, Marquez A, Leidy H, Wang MC, Cleveland DA, Jay J, Stecher C. Changing the default meal option at university events to reduce harmful environmental impacts: Six randomized controlled trials. Appetite. 2024 Sep 1;200:107572. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2024.107572. Epub 2024 Jun 20.

  PMID: 38908405 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Feeding Behavior

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior, Animal; Behavior

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 29, 2024
• First Posted: August 15, 2024
• Study Start: March 1, 2022
• Primary Completion: August 12, 2022
• Study Completion: February 22, 2024
• Last Updated: July 15, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: CSR, ANALYTIC CODE
• Time Frame: Shortly after our manuscript is accepted for publication
• Access Criteria: https://doi.org/10.48349/ASU/C1CWX9

Locations

US (1)