Facts-Up-Front Versus Traffic-Light Food Labels

NCT ID: NCT01626729

Last Updated: 2012-06-25

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

703 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2011-05-31

Study Completion Date

2011-05-31

Brief Summary

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The U.S. food and beverage industry recently released a new front-of-package nutrition labeling system called Facts Up Front that will be used on thousands of food products. The purpose of this study was to test consumer understanding of the Facts Up Front nutrition labeling system compared to the Multiple Traffic Light system (Traffic Light). Facts Up Front displays grams/milligrams and % daily value information for various nutrients; Traffic Light uses an interpretive color-coded scheme to alert consumers to low, medium or high levels of certain nutrients. Participants in an Internet-based study were randomized to one of five front-of-package label conditions: 1) No Label; 2) Traffic Light; 3) Traffic Light plus information about protein and fiber (Traffic Light+); 4) Facts Up Front; or 5) Facts Up Front plus information about "nutrients to encourage" (Facts Up Front+). Total percentage correct quiz scores were generated reflecting participants' ability to compare two foods on nutrient levels, based on their labels, and to estimate amounts of saturated fat, sugar, sodium, fiber and protein in foods. 703 adult participants recruited through an online database in May 2011 participated in this Internet-based study and data were analyzed in June 2011. The investigators hypothesized that the Traffic Light label groups would perform better than the Facts Up Front groups on all outcomes.

Detailed Description

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Conditions

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Food Labeling

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Traffic Light

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Traffic Light

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

A kilocalories (calories) per serving label and a Traffic Light symbol with High/Med/Low text indicating amounts of saturated fat, total sugars, and sodium per serving.

Traffic Light+

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Traffic Light+

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

A calories per serving label and a Traffic Light symbol with High/Med/Low text indicating amounts of saturated fat, total sugars, sodium, fiber and protein per serving.

Facts Up Front

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Facts Up Front

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

A label displaying calories, saturated fat, sodium, and total sugars per serving. Nutrient amounts were listed in grams/milligrams and % Daily Values (%DVs), which indicate whether a serving of food is high or low in a nutrient based on daily value recommendations for a 2,000 calorie diet, were included. This symbol was created based on the Facts Up Front symbol description provided by the Grocery Manufacturers Association and Food Marketing Institute, without the inclusion of nutrients to encourage.

Facts Up Front+

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Facts Up Front+

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

A label displaying calories, saturated fat, sodium, and total sugars per serving. The label also showed two (out of the possible eight) nutrients to encourage with the highest %DV. Nutrient amounts were listed in grams/milligrams and %DVs were included. This symbol was based directly on the Facts Up Front symbol description provided by the Grocery Manufacturers Association and Food Marketing Institute.

No front of package label

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

No label control group

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

No label control group

Interventions

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Traffic Light

A kilocalories (calories) per serving label and a Traffic Light symbol with High/Med/Low text indicating amounts of saturated fat, total sugars, and sodium per serving.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Traffic Light+

A calories per serving label and a Traffic Light symbol with High/Med/Low text indicating amounts of saturated fat, total sugars, sodium, fiber and protein per serving.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Facts Up Front

A label displaying calories, saturated fat, sodium, and total sugars per serving. Nutrient amounts were listed in grams/milligrams and % Daily Values (%DVs), which indicate whether a serving of food is high or low in a nutrient based on daily value recommendations for a 2,000 calorie diet, were included. This symbol was created based on the Facts Up Front symbol description provided by the Grocery Manufacturers Association and Food Marketing Institute, without the inclusion of nutrients to encourage.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Facts Up Front+

A label displaying calories, saturated fat, sodium, and total sugars per serving. The label also showed two (out of the possible eight) nutrients to encourage with the highest %DV. Nutrient amounts were listed in grams/milligrams and %DVs were included. This symbol was based directly on the Facts Up Front symbol description provided by the Grocery Manufacturers Association and Food Marketing Institute.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

No label control group

No label control group

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Participants in Survey Sampling International Panels

Exclusion Criteria

* Younger than 18 years old
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Yale University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Christina Roberto

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Christina A Roberto, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Yale University

Locations

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Survey Sampling International & Yale University

New Haven, Connecticut, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Roberto CA, Bragg MA, Schwartz MB, Seamans MJ, Musicus A, Novak N, Brownell KD. Facts up front versus traffic light food labels: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Prev Med. 2012 Aug;43(2):134-41. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2012.04.022.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 22813677 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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1101007870

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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