Food Choice Among Individuals With an Eating Disorder Diagnosis
The Impact of Warning Labels vs Traffic Light Labels on Food Choice and Negative Emotional Response in an Eating Disorder Population Group
1 other identifier
interventional
246
1 country
1
Brief Summary
The aim of this study is to understand the impact of front of pack labelling systems such as, warning labels and traffic light labels on food choice and negative emotional response in an eating disorder(s) population group. Participants will be recruited to take part in an online study where they will be required to make hypothetical food choices. Participants will complete a baseline no label task, before being randomly assigned to (1) warning label group, (2) traffic light label group, or (3) no label group in which they will complete the same task a second time (mixed design). Each participant, irrespective of the group will be asked to complete five trials within the main task. Participants will view a selection of six packaged food items for scenarios involving labels predominately relating to (1) sugar, (2) salt, (3) fat, (4) saturated fat, and (5) calorie content of the food products. Three items will be 'high in' that particular nutrient and three items will not be high in that nutrient. Participants will be shown all six options at once and will be asked to choose one item. In total, participants will choose five different items, one from each trial. After participants have made their food choices for the second task, they will be asked questions about the task they have just completed.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable
Started Nov 2025
Shorter than P25 for not_applicable
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
Study Start
First participant enrolled
November 13, 2025
CompletedFirst Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
December 18, 2025
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
January 14, 2026
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
May 1, 2026
CompletedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
May 1, 2026
CompletedJanuary 14, 2026
January 1, 2026
6 months
December 18, 2025
January 5, 2026
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Total number of unhealthy food items selected
Total number of selected unhealthy food items across the 5 trials will be calculated. Unhealthy food items will be coded as items eligible for a WL or a red traffic light label for the task-specific nutrient e.g., red for salt in crisp trial.
Measured in both surveys, immediately after the intervention. The baseline task must be completed between 24 hours and 1 week prior to completing the second task.
Secondary Outcomes (8)
Total calories, salt, sugar, fat, saturated fat from selected food items
Measured in both surveys, immediately after the intervention.
Negative emotional response
Measured in survey 2, immediately after the intervention.
Positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS)
Measured in both surveys, pre-intervention and immediately after the intervention.
Reactance and avoidance
Measured in survey 2, immediately after the intervention.
Acceptability of labels
Measured in survey 2, immediately after the intervention.
- +3 more secondary outcomes
Other Outcomes (1)
Aim guessing
Measured in survey 2, immediately after the intervention.
Study Arms (3)
No label
ACTIVE COMPARATORProducts in the food choice task will not feature a nutrition label.
Traffic light label
EXPERIMENTALProducts in the food choice task will feature a traffic light label.
Warning labels
EXPERIMENTALProducts in the food choice task will feature warning labels if high in sugar, salt, fat, saturated fat, and/or calories.
Interventions
Participants will view a selection of six packaged food items for scenarios involving labels predominately relating to (1) sugar, (2) salt, (3) fat, (4) saturated fat, and (5) calorie content of the food products. Three items will be 'high in' that particular nutrient and three items will not be high in that nutrient. Participants will be shown all six options at once and will be asked to choose one item. In total, participants will choose five different items, one from each trial.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Current or past eating disorder diagnosis
- Aged 18+
- Live in the UK
- Fluent English speaker
You may not qualify if:
- Currently partaking in a fast or any other restrictive eating
- Any dietary restrictions/intolerances (eg. Vegan, Gluten-free, etc.)
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (1)
University of Liverpool
Liverpool, L17 1AJ, United Kingdom
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Eric Robinson, PhD
University of Liverpool
Central Study Contacts
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
- Dr
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
December 18, 2025
First Posted
January 14, 2026
Study Start
November 13, 2025
Primary Completion
May 1, 2026
Study Completion
May 1, 2026
Last Updated
January 14, 2026
Record last verified: 2026-01
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will share
- Shared Documents
- STUDY PROTOCOL
- Time Frame
- Indefinitely, from the date of article submission.
- Access Criteria
- Any interested researchers can access the anonymised dataset.
Anonymised dataset will be uploaded to the Open Science Framework.