Nutri-score Labels on the Nutritional Quality of Out-of-home Food Selection

NCT07423845 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: NS consortium study
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 870
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Participants will be asked to make hypothetical food choices in an online simulation study of an OOH delivery app. This study will be a three-arm randomised controlled design, with intervention type as the 3-level grouping variable (Nutri-score labelling vs. Nutri-score labelling with educational intervention vs. no labelling).

Conditions

Overconsumption; Obesity

Keywords

Nutri-score; Food choice; Delivery app; out-of-home food

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Healthiness of selected meal

  In line with published research into Nutri-score, the investigators will assess the healthiness of meals using UK Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) scores(16). These scores are calculated in a similar way to Nutri-score, whereby the total value of positive nutrients is subtracted from the total value of negative nutrients. Lower scores represent healthier items. Scores range from -15 (healthiest) to 40 (least healthy). To account for the likely event of multiple items being selected to form a meal, the investigators will calculate a mean NPM score, weighted by the energy content of individual food items. This will be done using the 'weighted.mean'(37) function in R grouped by participant so the weights are specific to individual orders. The following code will be used for this: weighted\_ppt\<-combine %\>% group\_by(ppt) %\>% summarise(score = weighted.mean(nutriscore, meal\_kcal))

  Day 1 of 1: Food orders (item names, energy content, UK Nutrient Profiling Model scores) will be recorded immediately after the baseline questionnaire. The recorded information will be used to calculate weighted NPM scores.

• Nutri-score label of selected food items

  Nutri-score values of each menu item were calculated prior to creating the online ordering platform. To calculate overall scores, the total value of positive nutrients is subtracted from the total value of negative nutrients. Lower scores represent healthier items. Thresholds are used to dictate the Nutri-score value assigned to items, with A (healthiest) to E (least healthy) When participants complete the food choice task, the Nutri-score labels (A-E) of each item selected by participants will be recorded by the online platform.

  Day 1 of 1: Food orders (item names, NS values) will be recorded immediately after the baseline questionnaire when participants select their food orders.

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Energy content of all food ordered

  Day 1 of 1: The energy content selected by participants will be recorded immediately after the baseline questionnaire when participants select their food orders.

Other Outcomes (4)

• Health food choice motives

  Day 1 of 1: The Food Choice Motives questionnaire will be completed immediately after participants make their food choice.

• Height & weight

  Day 1 of 1: Height and weight data will be collected in the follow-up questionnaire, immediately after participants make their food choice.

• Socioeconomic position (SEP)

  Day 1 of 1: Participants will report their annual household income and highest level of education in the baseline questionnaire, immediately prior to the food choice task.

Study Arms (3)

Control

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will be presented with a menu with calorie labelling only

Behavioral: Labelling condition - Calorie labelling

Nutri-score labelling

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will be presented with a menu with calorie labelling and Nutri-score labelling

Behavioral: Labelling condition - Nutri-score labelling

Nutri-score labelling + educational intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will be presented with a menu with calorie labelling and Nutri-score labelling. Prior to the food choice task, participants will read an article on Nutri-score as an educational intervention.

Behavioral: Labelling condition: Nutri-score labelling + educational intervention

Interventions

Labelling condition - Calorie labelling BEHAVIORAL

Participants will be asked to choose a meal through a virtual delivery app where four outlets are presented. Participants will be provided with a menu with calorie labelling.

Control

Labelling condition - Nutri-score labelling BEHAVIORAL

Participants will be asked to choose a meal through a virtual delivery app where four outlets are presented. Participants will be given menus with calorie and Nutri-score labelling.

Nutri-score labelling

Labelling condition: Nutri-score labelling + educational intervention BEHAVIORAL

Participants will be asked to choose a meal through a virtual delivery app where four outlets are presented. Participants will be given menus with calorie and Nutri-score labelling. Prior to selecting their meal, participants will be asked to read an article about Nutri-score.

Nutri-score labelling + educational intervention

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• Aged 18+
• Frequent user of food delivery platforms (at least once a month on average)
• Can complete the study on a laptop or desktop

You may not qualify if:

• Current or previous diagnosis of an eating disorder
• Currently on appetite supressing medication
• No dietary restrictions including dairy free, sugar free, gluten free (vegetarians and vegans are eligible to participate)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Liverpool: lead
• Aston University: collaborator
• University of Bath: collaborator
• University of Exeter: collaborator
• Liverpool John Moores University: collaborator
• King's College London: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Liverpool

Liverpool, Merseyside, L69 7ZA, United Kingdom

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Obesity

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Overweight; Overnutrition; Nutrition Disorders; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Body Weight; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Officials

• Eric Robinson

  University of Liverpool

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Eric Robinson

CONTACT

+44 151794; robinsoe@liverpool.ac.uk

Amy H Finlay

CONTACT

amy.finlay@liverpool.ac.uk

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR
• Masking Details: To attempt to reduce the likelihood of aim guessing, participants will be recruited to a study described as 'consumer behaviour on food delivery platforms'. Participants will be randomly allocated upon beginning the study, so researchers will be unaware of assigned condition.
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 25, 2025
• First Posted: February 20, 2026
• Study Start: December 8, 2025
• Primary Completion: March 6, 2026
• Study Completion: March 6, 2026
• Last Updated: February 20, 2026

Record last verified: 2025-10

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF, ANALYTIC CODE
• Time Frame: IPD and supporting information will be available once the study is completed and published, with no end date.
• Access Criteria: The IPD and supporting information will be uploaded to the Open Science Framework where it will be openly available.

Locations

GB (1)