Online Study of the Effects of Sugary Drink Warning Labels on Consumption

Communicating the Health Risks of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages: A Randomized-controlled Experiment of Different Nutrition Labels on Purchases and Consumption

The aim of this study is to determine the degree to which sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) warning labels increase consumers' knowledge about the potential health harms of SSBs and reduce SSB purchases and consumption. 216 racially and ethnically diverse parents of children 6-11 years old will be recruited to buy snacks and beverages for four weeks via an online store that ships participants their purchases. Participants will be randomized to either 1) calorie labels (control); or 2) sugar graphic warning labels. The investigators hypothesize that sugar graphic warning labels displayed in an online store in weeks 2-4 will lead to the greatest reductions from week 1 across both primary outcomes compared to the control group that will only see calorie labels.

During this study, participants will shop in an online store created using Shopify for four weeks. In this within-participant design, the first week of shopping is baseline. Participants will then be randomized to different store interfaces for the remaining three weeks based on one of two warning label conditions: 1) calorie labels (control); or 2) sugar graphic warning labels. Participants will complete a brief survey at the start of the study to assess demographic information, information about parent and child beverage consumption, and their online shopping experiences. At the end they will complete another survey about their beverage consumption, their experience shopping in the store, whether they noticed and used the warning labels, and their ability to recall the warning label message. Participants will also be asked about their perceptions of a specific type of warning label in this final survey. Upon completion of the survey, participants will be shown a debriefing statement explaining the study purpose. After they read the information, they will be asked whether or not they consent to allow their data to be used in this study.

Inclusion Criteria:

• a primary caregiver of a child 6-to-11 years old;
• >=18 years old;
• can read and speak English;
• primary grocery shopper for their household;
• have regular Internet access; and
• report that the oldest of their children between 6 and 11 years old is consuming sugar sweetened beverages at least twelve times per month or approximately three times a week

Exclusion Criteria:

• not a primary caregiver of a child 6-to-11 years old;
• <18 years old;
• cannot read and/or speak English;
• not the primary grocery shopper for their household;
• does not have regular Internet access; and
• does not report that the oldest of their children between 6 and 11 years old is consuming sugar sweetened beverages at least twelve times per month or approximately three times a week