Trial reportAppetite2019
Impact of proximity of healthier versus less healthy foods on intake: A lab-based experiment.
Trial report in Appetite, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Altering the availability or proximity of food, alcohol, and tobacco products to change their selection and consumption.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Altering the availability or proximity of food, alcohol, and tobacco products to change their selection and consumption.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Perceived food value depends on display format, preference strength, and physical accessibility.Appetite · 2025Article
- Nudgeability: Mapping Conditions of Susceptibility to Nudge Influence.Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science · 2022Article
- Using the Major Components (Cellulose, Hemicellulose, and Lignin) ofFrontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2021Article
- Teaching families to manage intake of candy in the home: Results from a feasibility study using multiphase optimization strategy (MOST).Obesity science & practice · 2020Article
- Beyond Discrete Choices - Investigating the Effectiveness of a Proximity Nudge With Multiple Alternative Options.Frontiers in psychology · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPlacing food further away from people decreases likelihood of consumption ("Proximity Effect"). However, it is unclear how proximity affects consumption when both healthier and less healthy foods are available and cognitive resource for self-control is limited.
aimsTo test the hypothesis that when both healthier (raisins) and less healthy (chocolate M&Ms) foods are available, placing less healthy food far, rather than near, increases the likelihood that healthier food is consumed.
methodsGeneral population participants (N = 248) were all put under cognitive load and randomised to one of four groups: 1. Raisins near (20 cm), M&Ms far (70 cm); 2. Both foods near; 3. M&Ms near, raisins far; 4. Both far. PRIMARY OUTCOME: proportions of participants consuming raisins and M&Ms, respectively.
resultsThe results did not support the primary hypothesis: when healthier and less healthy foods were both available, placing M&Ms far, rather than near, did not increase likelihood of consuming raisins (OR = 1.54, p = .432). Regardless of the M&Ms proximity, likelihood of consuming raisins was unaffected by the raisins' proximity (62.9%(near) vs. 56.5%(far) OR = 0.61, p = .211). Likelihood of consuming M&Ms non-significantly decreased when they were far and raisins were near, and when both foods were far (OR = 2.83, p = .057). Likelihood of consuming M&Ms was affected by M&Ms proximity, being higher when near (68.3%) than far (55.6%), OR = 0.39, p = .015. Indices of cognitive load impact (higher vs lower) were unrelated to consumption of either food.
conclusionsLikelihood of consuming a healthier food was unaffected by its proximity and that of a less healthy food. By contrast, likelihood of consuming a less healthy food was influenced by its proximity and possibly by that of a healthier food. These effects need replication in studies designed to detect smaller effect sizes.
trial registrationThis study was registered online with ISRCTN (ISRCTN11740813).
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.