Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36104738›Full record

Trial reportThe international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity2022

The efficacy of a multi-strategy choice architecture intervention on improving the nutritional quality of high school students' lunch purchases from online canteens (Click & Crunch High Schools): a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Tessa Delaney, Sze Lin Yoong, Hannah Lamont, Christophe Lecathelinais, Luke Wolfenden, Tara Clinton-McHarg, Rachel Sutherland, Rebecca Wyse

Abstract 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 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Trial
  4. Trial
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. 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

8 authors.

Tessa DelaneyHunter New England Population Health, Wallsend, NSW, 2287, Australia. Tessa.Delaney@health.nsw.gov.au.ORCID 0000-0002-2756-4821
Sze Lin YoongHunter New England Population Health, Wallsend, NSW, 2287, Australia.
Hannah LamontHunter New England Population Health, Wallsend, NSW, 2287, Australia.
Christophe LecathelinaisHunter New England Population Health, Wallsend, NSW, 2287, Australia.
Luke WolfendenHunter New England Population Health, Wallsend, NSW, 2287, Australia.
Tara Clinton-McHargHunter New England Population Health, Wallsend, NSW, 2287, Australia.
Rachel SutherlandHunter New England Population Health, Wallsend, NSW, 2287, Australia.
Rebecca WyseHunter New England Population Health, Wallsend, NSW, 2287, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHigh school canteens are an ideal setting for public health nutrition intervention, and choice architecture strategies that facilitate the purchase of healthier foods and beverages from school canteens are recommended by the World Health Organization. The rapid uptake of online lunch ordering within school canteens provides a unique opportunity to implement choice architecture strategies that support healthier food choices with high fidelity. Despite this, no trial has tested the efficacy of choice architecture strategies within an online lunch ordering system on improving the nutritional quality of high school student lunch purchases. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of embedding choice architecture strategies into an online lunch ordering system on the nutritional quality of the school canteen lunch purchases of high school students (aged 12-19 years).

methodsA cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted with nine high schools in one Australian state. Schools were randomized to receive either a 2-month choice architecture intervention (involving menu labelling, prompts, item positioning, and feedback), or usual online ordering. Nutrient quality of online canteen lunch purchases was assessed using routine data collected by the online ordering system. Primary outcomes were the proportion of 'Everyday', 'Occasional', and 'Should not be sold' items purchased, categorized using the state healthy canteen policy. Secondary outcomes were the mean energy, saturated fat, sugar, and sodium content of purchases and the mean weekly revenue from online lunch orders. Linear mixed models were analyzed to assess outcomes.

resultsAnalysis of the student cohort (Intervention: 4 schools, 656 students; Control: 5 schools, 675 students) showed significant between group differences over time for the intervention group for the mean percentage of online lunch items per student that were 'Everyday' (+ 5.5%; P < 0.001) and 'Should not be sold' (- 4.4%; P < 0.001). There were no between group differences over time in the mean percentage of online lunch items that were 'Occasional'; the average energy, saturated fat, sugar, or sodium content of lunch orders. There was also no difference in mean weekly revenue from high school student online lunch orders (P = 0.23).

conclusionsThese findings suggest that a low intensity, choice architecture intervention embedded within an online ordering system can increase the purchase of healthier food items for high school students in one Australian state without any adverse impact on canteen revenue.

trial registrationThis trial was prospectively registered on Open Science Framework on 23rd October 2020 as osf.io/h8zfr.

Indexed as

Food ServicesLunchAustraliaHumansNutritive ValueSodiumStudentsSugarsSodiumSugarsCanteenChoice architectureDigital interventionInterventionLunchMenu labelingNudgeRandomized controlled trialSchoolsWeb-based ordering systems

Identifiers

PMID36104738
PMCPMC9473460

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.