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Brief title
Health condition
Fiscal policies to improve diet have emerged as apparent effective interventions to counteract overweight and obesity and non-communicable diseases such as diabetes type 2, cardiovascular diseases, musculoskeletal disorders and some types of cancer.
Sponsors and support
Intervention
Outcome measures
Primary outcome
Sugar-sweetened beverage purchases per household per week
Secondary outcome
Secondary outcome measures will be leading brand SSB purchases, house brand SSB purchases, healthiness of the total shopping basket (total unit food items with a Nutri-score A, B or C), and total purchased energy (kcal).
Descriptive statistics for the following outcome measures will also be presented: food groups (total unit food items within NEVO food groups), sugar, fat, saturated fat, protein, fiber, sodium and total expenditure in euro.
Background summary
In recent years, fiscal policies to improve diet have received considerable attention. Although the focus of most tax initiatives has been on sugar-sweetened beverages, taxes targeting a wider range of “unhealthy” foods and beverages may have more beneficial effects on overall diet quality and health than taxation on sugar-sweetened beverages alone. Therefore, the aim of the present randomized controlled trial is to measure and compare the effect of different tax schemes on consumer purchasing in a virtual supermarket. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of the following conditions: a sugar-sweetened beverages tax condition, a nutrient profiling tax condition, or a control condition.
Study objective
Our hypothesis is that less sugar-sweetened beverages will be purchased in both tax conditions compared to the control condition, and that the nutrient profiling tax condition will affect healthiness of the total shopping basket and total purchased energy.
Study design
One time point. Participants will visit the virtual supermarket once and complete a questionnaire afterwards.
Intervention
In the virtual supermarket, participants will be randomly assigned to one of the following conditions:
(i) Sugar-sweetened beverages tax condition. In this condition, prices of sugar-sweetened beverages are taxed on a scheme similar to the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy, where beverages containing 5 to 8 grams of sugar per 100 milliliter are taxed €0.21 per liter and beverages containing more than 8 grams of sugar per 100 milliliter are taxed €0.28 per liter.
(ii) Nutrient profiling tax condition. In this condition, taxation of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods and beverages is based on the Nutri-score (nutrient profiling scheme). Food and beverages with a label “D” or “E” are classified as “unhealthy” and taxed at a 20 percent level based on previous scientific evidence.
(iii) Control condition. In this condition, regular prices will be used. The control condition will also be used for the purpose of another randomized controlled trial evaluating the effect of a meat tax on consumer purchases (registration in NTR will follow).
To reflect a realistic situation in which taxes are introduced, participants in the experimental conditions will be informed about the taxation before entering the Virtual Supermarket. Participants in the control condition will not receive such a notification.
Inclusion criteria
Participants are eligible for inclusion in the study if they meet the following criteria: (i) being 18 years or older, (ii) being familiar with the Dutch language, (iii) being largely/totally responsible for grocery shopping, and (iv) having access to a laptop or computer.
Exclusion criteria
People who do not comply with the inclusion criteria
Design
Recruitment
IPD sharing statement
Followed up by the following (possibly more current) registration
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Other (possibly less up-to-date) registrations in this register
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In other registers
| Register | ID |
|---|---|
| NTR-new | NL8616 |
| Other | The Research Ethics Review Committee (BETHCIE) of the Faculty of Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam : 20205 |