Encouraging Healthy and Sustainable Dietary Substitutions

Encouraging Healthy and Sustainable Dietary Substitutions: A Randomized Experiment With Emerging Adults

The aim of this study is to examine emerging adults' responses to dietary substitution messages about health, the environment, or both health and the environment.

This online study will examine emerging adults' responses to dietary substitution messages about 4 different topics. Participants will be randomized to 1 of 4 topic arms: 1) Control (neutral topic, not related to health or the environment); 2) Health topic; 3) Environment topic; 4) Health and Environment topic. Participants will view messages about each of 4 dietary substitutions: replacing red meat with chicken or vegetarian options; replacing dairy milk with non-dairy milk; replacing juice with whole fruit; and replacing sugar-sweetened beverages with water. For each dietary substitution, participants will view 2 messages about their assigned topic, with the 2 messages shown in random order. Participants will rate each message on perceived message effectiveness (primary outcome).

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age between 18-25 years
• Reside in the United States
• Ability to complete a survey in English

Exclusion Criteria:

• Older than 25 years; younger than 18 years
• Reside outside of the United States
• Unable to complete a survey in English