Environmental Harm Menu Labels for Food Choice
(MENU Trial)
What You Need to Know Before You Apply
What is the purpose of this trial?
The primary objective of this study is to evaluate whether repeated exposure to environmental harm menu labels on fast-food restaurant menus changes overall dietary quality. Participants will be randomized to view either a control (QR code) label or traffic-light style environmental harm labels on two alternating fast-food restaurant menus, and will order one lunch per week for seven weeks through a study ordering website, with each meal delivered to the participant the following day. The outcome is the change in overall dietary quality from baseline to endline, assessed with 24-hour dietary recalls before and after the seven-week ordering period.
Who Is on the Research Team?
Julia Wolfson, PhD, MPP
Principal Investigator
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?
This trial is for adults who regularly eat fast food and are willing to order lunch online once a week for seven weeks. Specific inclusion or exclusion criteria were not provided.Inclusion Criteria
Exclusion Criteria
What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?
Interventions
- Control (QR Code) Menu Labels
- Traffic-Light Style Environmental Harm Menu Labels
Trial Overview
The study compares two types of menu labels: one group sees regular QR code labels, while the other sees traffic-light style environmental harm labels on fast-food menus. Participants are randomly assigned to each group and order weekly lunches through a website.
How Is the Trial Designed?
2
Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Placebo Group
Participants order one lunch per week for seven weeks from two alternating fast-food restaurant menus. The Week 1 menu is unlabeled. In Weeks 2-7, traffic-light style environmental harm labels are applied to all main items on the restaurant menus. Participants in this arm are randomized in equal numbers to begin with the burger restaurant menu or the sandwich restaurant menu in Week 1; the two restaurants then alternate weekly, so that each participant sees their first restaurant in Weeks 1, 3, 5 and 7 and the other restaurant in Weeks 2, 4 and 6.
Participants order one lunch per week for seven weeks from two alternating fast-food restaurant menus. The Week 1 menu is unlabeled. In Weeks 2-7, a control label consisting of a QR code is applied to all main items on the restaurant menus. Participants in this arm are randomized in equal numbers to begin with the burger restaurant menu or the sandwich restaurant menu in Week 1; the two restaurants then alternate weekly, so that each participant sees their first restaurant in Weeks 1, 3, 5 and 7 and the other restaurant in Weeks 2, 4 and 6.
Find a Clinic Near You
Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Lead Sponsor
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Collaborator
Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH)
Collaborator
University of Pennsylvania
Collaborator
University of California, Davis
Collaborator
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