Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35550584›Full record

Trial reportThe international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity2022

Strategies to reduce the energy content of foods pre-ordered for lunch in the workplace: a randomised controlled trial in an experimental online canteen.

Sarah Breathnach, Phillippa Lally, Clare H Llewellyn, Alex Sutherland, Dimitrios A Koutoukidis

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 32% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Sarah BreathnachResearch Department of Behavioural Science and Health, Faculty of Epidemiology & Public Health, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London, WC1E 7HB, UK. sarah.breathnach.17@ucl.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0002-8558-5233
Phillippa LallyResearch Department of Behavioural Science and Health, Faculty of Epidemiology & Public Health, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London, WC1E 7HB, UK.
Clare H LlewellynResearch Department of Behavioural Science and Health, Faculty of Epidemiology & Public Health, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London, WC1E 7HB, UK.
Alex SutherlandBehavioural Insights Team, 4 Matthew Parker Street, SW1H 9NP, London, UK.
Dimitrios A KoutoukidisNuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation, Oxford, Trust, UK.
University College London · GBPublic Health England · GBThe Behavioural Insights Team · GBUniversity of Oxford · GB

Funding

Cancer Research UK C43975/A27498
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPrompting employees to swap their usual lunches for lower-energy alternatives may help align energy intake with public health recommendations. We tested the effect of offering lower-energy swaps with and without physical activity calorie equivalent (PACE) information on the energy of lunches pre-ordered in an online hypothetical workplace canteen.

methodsUK employed adults (n = 2,150) were invited to hypothetically pre-order their lunch from the canteen through a custom-made online platform. They were randomised 1:1:1 to: (i) control: no swaps offered; (ii) lower-energy swaps offered; or (iii) lower-energy swaps offered with PACE information. The primary outcome was the total energy ordered using analysis of covariance and controlling for the energy content of the initial items ordered. Secondary outcomes were swap acceptance rate and intervention acceptability.

resultsParticipants were 54% female, had a mean age of 36.8 (SD = 11.6) and a BMI of 26.3 (SD = 5.6). Compared with an average 819 kcal energy ordered in the control, both the swaps and swaps + PACE interventions significantly reduced average energy ordered by 47 kcal (95% CI: -82 to -13, p = 0.003) and 66 kcal (95% CI: -100 to -31, p < 0.001), respectively. Compared with offering swaps only, the swaps + PACE intervention led to significantly higher swap acceptance (OR: 1.63, 95% CI: 1.27 to 2.09, p < 0.001) but did not significantly reduce energy ordered (-19 kcal, 95% CI: -53 to 16, p = 0.591). About 65% and 16% of intervention participants found the swap interventions acceptable and unacceptable, respectively, with the swaps + PACE intervention being considered more acceptable than swaps only (OR: 1.32, 95%CI: 1.09 to 1.60, p < 0.004).

conclusionOffering lower-energy swaps with or without PACE information reduced the energy of pre-ordered lunches experimentally. Both interventions hold promise for reducing the energy of purchased foods and drinks. Trial Registration As Predicted reference number: 56358, 22/01/21, https://aspredicted.org/pw2qr.pdf.

Indexed as

Food ServicesLunchAdultConsumer BehaviorEnergy IntakeFemaleFood PreferencesHumansMaleWorkplaceCanteenLower-energyLunchPACEPre-orderingRandomised controlled trialSwapsWorkplace

Identifiers

PMID35550584
PMCPMC9096740
OpenAlexW4280556995

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.