Do calorie labels change energy purchased in a simulated online food delivery platform? A multi-arm randomised controlled trial
Background: As rates of obesity and overweight continue to increase in the UK, calorie labels have been introduced on menus as a policy option to provide information to consumers on the energy content of foods and to enable informed choices. This study tested whether the addition of calorie labels t...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
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BioMed Central
2024
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| _version_ | 1811141222683639808 |
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| author | Luick, M Bianchi, F Bain, F Bandy, L Doshi, P Hilliard, D Leung, J Mottershaw, A Stuijfzand, B Whitwell-Mak, J Jebb, SA Harper, H Pechey, R |
| author_facet | Luick, M Bianchi, F Bain, F Bandy, L Doshi, P Hilliard, D Leung, J Mottershaw, A Stuijfzand, B Whitwell-Mak, J Jebb, SA Harper, H Pechey, R |
| author_sort | Luick, M |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Background: As rates of obesity and overweight continue to increase in the UK, calorie labels have been introduced on menus as a policy option to provide information to consumers on the energy content of foods and to enable informed choices. This study tested whether the addition of calorie labels to items in a simulated food delivery platform may reduce the energy content of items selected. Methods: UK adults (n = 8,780) who used food delivery platforms were asked to use the simulated platform as they would in real life to order a meal for themselves. Participants were randomly allocated to a control condition (no calorie labels) or to one of seven intervention groups: (1) large size calorie labels adjacent to the price (LP), (2) large size label adjacent to the product name (LN), (3) small label adjacent to price (SP), (4) small label adjacent to product name (SN), (5) LP with a calorie label switch-off filter (LP + Off), (6) LP with a switch-on filter (LP + On), or, (7) LP with a summary label of the total basket energy content (LP + Sum). Regression analysis assessed the impact of calorie labels on energy content of foods selected compared to the control condition. Results: The mean energy selected in the control condition was 1408 kcal (95%CI: 93, 2719). There was a statistically significant reduction in mean energy selected in five of the seven intervention trial arms (LN labels (-60 kcal, 95%CI: -111, -6), SN (-73, 95%CI: -125, -19), LP + Off (-110, 95%CI: -161, -57), LP + On (-109, 95%CI: -159, -57), LP + Sum (-85 kcal, 95%CI: -137, -30). There was no evidence the other two conditions (LP (-33, 95%CI: -88, 24) and SP (-52, 95%CI: -105, 2)) differed from control. There was no evidence of an effect of any intervention when the analysis was restricted to participants who were overweight or obese. Conclusion: Adding calorie labels to food items in a simulated online food delivery platform reduced the energy content of foods selected in five out of seven labelling scenarios. This study provides useful information to inform the implementation of these labels in a food delivery platform context. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-25T04:34:27Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:08441843-a04b-43dc-8d50-aee8fae6dfd1 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-25T04:34:27Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publisher | BioMed Central |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:08441843-a04b-43dc-8d50-aee8fae6dfd12024-09-17T20:10:31ZDo calorie labels change energy purchased in a simulated online food delivery platform? A multi-arm randomised controlled trialJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:08441843-a04b-43dc-8d50-aee8fae6dfd1EnglishJisc Publications RouterBioMed Central2024Luick, MBianchi, FBain, FBandy, LDoshi, PHilliard, DLeung, JMottershaw, AStuijfzand, BWhitwell-Mak, JJebb, SAHarper, HPechey, RBackground: As rates of obesity and overweight continue to increase in the UK, calorie labels have been introduced on menus as a policy option to provide information to consumers on the energy content of foods and to enable informed choices. This study tested whether the addition of calorie labels to items in a simulated food delivery platform may reduce the energy content of items selected. Methods: UK adults (n = 8,780) who used food delivery platforms were asked to use the simulated platform as they would in real life to order a meal for themselves. Participants were randomly allocated to a control condition (no calorie labels) or to one of seven intervention groups: (1) large size calorie labels adjacent to the price (LP), (2) large size label adjacent to the product name (LN), (3) small label adjacent to price (SP), (4) small label adjacent to product name (SN), (5) LP with a calorie label switch-off filter (LP + Off), (6) LP with a switch-on filter (LP + On), or, (7) LP with a summary label of the total basket energy content (LP + Sum). Regression analysis assessed the impact of calorie labels on energy content of foods selected compared to the control condition. Results: The mean energy selected in the control condition was 1408 kcal (95%CI: 93, 2719). There was a statistically significant reduction in mean energy selected in five of the seven intervention trial arms (LN labels (-60 kcal, 95%CI: -111, -6), SN (-73, 95%CI: -125, -19), LP + Off (-110, 95%CI: -161, -57), LP + On (-109, 95%CI: -159, -57), LP + Sum (-85 kcal, 95%CI: -137, -30). There was no evidence the other two conditions (LP (-33, 95%CI: -88, 24) and SP (-52, 95%CI: -105, 2)) differed from control. There was no evidence of an effect of any intervention when the analysis was restricted to participants who were overweight or obese. Conclusion: Adding calorie labels to food items in a simulated online food delivery platform reduced the energy content of foods selected in five out of seven labelling scenarios. This study provides useful information to inform the implementation of these labels in a food delivery platform context. |
| spellingShingle | Luick, M Bianchi, F Bain, F Bandy, L Doshi, P Hilliard, D Leung, J Mottershaw, A Stuijfzand, B Whitwell-Mak, J Jebb, SA Harper, H Pechey, R Do calorie labels change energy purchased in a simulated online food delivery platform? A multi-arm randomised controlled trial |
| title | Do calorie labels change energy purchased in a simulated online food delivery platform? A multi-arm randomised controlled trial |
| title_full | Do calorie labels change energy purchased in a simulated online food delivery platform? A multi-arm randomised controlled trial |
| title_fullStr | Do calorie labels change energy purchased in a simulated online food delivery platform? A multi-arm randomised controlled trial |
| title_full_unstemmed | Do calorie labels change energy purchased in a simulated online food delivery platform? A multi-arm randomised controlled trial |
| title_short | Do calorie labels change energy purchased in a simulated online food delivery platform? A multi-arm randomised controlled trial |
| title_sort | do calorie labels change energy purchased in a simulated online food delivery platform a multi arm randomised controlled trial |
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