Targeted Food Incentives to Improve Diet Quality and Health Among Adults

Summary

The purpose of this study is to test whether individual-level targeted price incentives for healthier foods can improve the diet quality of grocery purchases made by adults in comparison to a "one size fits all" approach. To test this, the investigators plan to implement a 8-month randomized controlled cross-over trial. The intervention group will receive a small discount for using their loyalty card and weekly coupons for healthier foods (e.g. fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats and seafood, low-fat dairy) that are selected based on the individual's past purchase history, dietary preferences, their baseline diet quality, and their estimated likelihood of using the coupon. Individualized coupons will be automatically sent to customers' loyalty cards each week, and separate emails with appropriate nutrition education and information about the coupons will be sent to participants weekly. The control group will receive a small discount for using their loyalty cards during the first phase of the study (3-months), occasional untargeted coupons, and weekly emails with untargeted nutrition education. Following phase1, there will be a 2-month washout period, and then the intervention and control groups will cross over for the remaining 3-months of the study. The investigators will collect purchase data from all participants as well as food frequency questionnaires and other self-reported behavioral and health questions at baseline, after phase 1 completion, and after phase 2 completion. The investigators hypothesize that participants in the intervention group will meaningfully improve the overall quality of their food purchases (measured using the Grocery Purchase Quality Index-2016) as well as their overall diet quality (measured using the Healthy Eating Index 2010.

Conditions

• Diet Modification
• Diet Habit

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Targeted incentives

Participants receiving individually-targeted incentives will receive weekly coupons for healthier foods that are informed by their purchase history, responses to behavioral and health questions, food preferences, and need for improvement in different categories

BEHAVIORAL

Nominal loyalty card discount and nutrition education

All participants will receive a nominal discount on all groceries for using their loyalty card and nutrition education through weekly emails.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Rhode Island

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Maya Vadiveloo · University of Rhode Island

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2018-09-10

Primary Completion

2019-05-01

Completion

2019-05-01

Countries

• United States

Study Locations