Validation of Restaurant App

NCT06868056 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 855149
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Unhealthy diets significantly contribute to preventable chronic diseases among older adults. To advance the investigator's understanding of policies needed to support healthy diets, the objectives are: 1) to develop and validate an online fast food restaurant ordering application; and 2) to conduct a feasibility study for a larger randomized, controlled trial that will test healthy food policies in restaurant settings.

Conditions

Chronic Disease

Keywords

chronic disease; sugar-sweetened beverages; warning labels; beverage tax

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Average total kcals purchased

  Our primary outcome at the person-week level will be the correlation between the mean number of calories purchased overall and from taxed/labeled products per person during the in-person restaurant shopping trip (Week 1) and their online restaurant order (Week 2) prior to the implementation of the healthy food policy interventions.

  Assessed weekly at completion of restaurant order over 3 weeks

• Average total sodium purchased

  Our primary outcome at the person-week level will be the correlation between the mean amount of sodium (mg) purchased overall and from taxed/labeled products per person during the in-person restaurant shopping trip (Week 1) and their online restaurant order (Week 2) prior to the implementation of the healthy food policy interventions

  Assessed weekly at completion of restaurant order over 3 weeks

• Average total added sugars purchased

  Our primary outcome at the person-week level will be the correlation between the mean amount of sodium (mg) purchased overall and from taxed/labeled products per person during the in-person restaurant shopping trip (Week 1) and their online restaurant order (Week 2) prior to the implementation of the healthy food policy interventions

  Assessed weekly at completion of restaurant order over 3 weeks

• Average total saturated fat purchased

  Our primary outcome at the person-week level will be the correlation between the mean amount of sodium (mg) purchased overall and from taxed/labeled products per person during the in-person restaurant shopping trip (Week 1) and their online restaurant order (Week 2) prior to the implementation of the healthy food policy interventions

  Assessed weekly at completion of restaurant order over 3 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Assessing acceptability and realism of online restaurant app

  Assessed at study completion, average of 3 weeks.

• Average total dollars spent

  Assessed weekly at completion of restaurant order over 3 weeks

Study Arms (2)

No ultra-processed food and beverage taxes, warning labels, or healthy checkout regulations

NO INTERVENTION

An online application that will mimic real-world restaurant ordering with no ultra-processed food and beverage taxes, warning labels, or healthy checkout regulations on any products

Intervention (Suite of healthy food policies)

EXPERIMENTAL

An online application with a suite of healthy food policies, ultra-processed food and beverage taxes, front-of-pack nutrition labeling, and healthy check out regulations that restrict the promotion of ultra-processed products on the checkout page

Behavioral: Suite of healthy food policies

Interventions

Suite of healthy food policies BEHAVIORAL

an online application with a suite of healthy food policies ultra-processed food and beverage taxes, front-of-pack nutrition labeling, and healthy check out regulations that restrict the promotion of ultra-processed products on the checkout page

Intervention (Suite of healthy food policies)

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• years old.
• Can adhere to the study schedule (e.g., receive a lunch on a Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday).
• Household income approximately \<200% of the federal poverty level (the same eligibility criterion as SNAP).
• Reports consuming food from McDonald's or a similar fast-food chain at least once a month
• Has regular internet access.
• Has a smart phone that can take pictures.
• Can travel to a McDonald's location to buy a meal with the study debit card

You may not qualify if:

• Unable to provide consent non-English speaker
• Cognitive impairment; per PIs discretion
• Participant is under 18 years old
• Doesn't in the greater Philadelphia area.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Pennsylvania: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Chronic Disease

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Disease Attributes; Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Officials

• Christina Roberto, PhD

  University of Pennsylvania

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Masking Details: Participants will not be aware of their group assignment initially. It will be necessary to omit these details so that participants will shop for restaurant food as they would do in the real-world. We hope this minimizes the chances that the participant will purchase foods that they think the research team wants them to purchase. To conceal the study's purpose, participants will be told that we are conducting consumer market research about online shopping experiences, but will not be told that we are specifically interested in understanding the effects of food and beverage taxes, nutrition labels, and marketing restrictions.
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 13, 2025
• First Posted: March 10, 2025
• Study Start: February 24, 2025
• Primary Completion: May 20, 2025
• Study Completion: May 20, 2025
• Last Updated: July 16, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)