Brief Summary

The primary objective of this study is to identify the food counter-marketing messages (i.e., messages that describe deceptive marketing tactics used by food companies) that are perceived as most effective among young adults.

Trial Health

Monitor

Trial Health Score

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

Enrollment

645

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for not_applicable

Timeline

0mo left

Started Jan 2027

Geographic Reach

1 country

1 active site

Status

not yet recruiting

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

8 days study duration

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

August 12, 2026

Completed

5 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

August 17, 2026

Completed

5 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

January 8, 2027

Expected

8 days until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

January 16, 2027

Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

January 16, 2027

Last Updated

August 17, 2026

Status Verified

August 1, 2026

Enrollment Period

8 days

First QC Date

August 12, 2026

Last Update Submit

August 14, 2026

Conditions

Diet Quality Young Adult Health Communication

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

Perceived message effectiveness for discouraging consumption of unhealthy foods
The study will assess perceived message effectiveness for discouraging consumption of sugary drinks and processed snacks with 1 item: "This message discourages me from wanting to consume sugary drinks and processed snacks." Response options for all items will range from "Not at all" (coded as 1) to "A great deal" (coded as 5). Higher scores indicate higher perceived message effectiveness. The survey will measure perceived message effectiveness immediately after participants are exposed to each message.
The survey will take up to 15 minutes

Study Arms (1)

Experimental: Counter-marketing food messages

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants view 26 messages. Messages cover five counter-marketing topics: (1) lying about unhealthy products being healthy, (2) engineering foods to be addictive, (3) covering up evidence about the harms of consuming unhealthy products, (4) targeting groups, (5) piggybacking on social causes to promote products. Each topic is presented in five framing variants: an unframed version and four values-based frames that connect the message to a value (e.g., authenticity, fairness). Participants also view one control message, for a total of 26 messages (5 topics × 5 framing variants, plus 1 control). Topic order is randomized across participants; within each topic, the five framing variants are presented consecutively in random order.

Behavioral: Lying about unhealthy foods being healthyBehavioral: Engineering foods to be addictiveBehavioral: Targeting groupsBehavioral: Piggybacking on social causesBehavioral: Covering up the evidence about the harms of unhealthy foodsBehavioral: Control