Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2017 Apr 17;7(4):e014569.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-014569.

Cluster randomised controlled trial of a consumer behaviour intervention to improve healthy food purchases from online canteens: study protocol

Tessa Delaney  1   2   3   4 , Rebecca Wyse  1   2   3   4 , Sze Lin Yoong  1   2   3   4 , Rachel Sutherland  1   2   3   4 , John Wiggers  1   2   3   4 , Kylie Ball  5 , Karen Campbell  5 , Chris Rissel  6 , Luke Wolfenden  1   2   3   4
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Cluster randomised controlled trial of a consumer behaviour intervention to improve healthy food purchases from online canteens: study protocol

Tessa Delaney et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Introduction: School canteens represent an opportune setting in which to deliver public health nutrition strategies given their wide reach, and frequent use by children. Online school canteen ordering systems, where students order and pay for their lunch online, provide an avenue to improve healthy canteen purchases through the application of consumer behaviour strategies that impact on purchasing decisions. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of a consumer behaviour intervention implemented in an online school canteen ordering system in reducing the kilojoule, saturated fat, sugar and sodium content of primary student lunch orders.

Methods and analysis: The study will employ a cluster randomised controlled trial design. Approximately 1040 students (aged 5-12 years) from 10 primary schools in New South Wales, Australia, currently using an online canteen ordering system will be invited to participate. Schools will be randomised in a 1:1 ratio to receive either the intervention (enhanced system) or control (standard online ordering only). The intervention will include evidence-based strategies shown to influence healthy food purchasing (strategies targeting availability, menu labelling, placement and prompting). The primary outcomes of the trial will be the mean content per student online lunch order of (1) energy (kJ), (2) saturated fat (g), (3) sugar (g) and (4) sodium (mg). The impact of the intervention will be determined by between-group assessment of the nutritional content of lunch purchases over a 2-month period postintervention initiation.

Ethics and dissemination: The study was approved by the Hunter New England Human Research Ethics Committee, University of Newcastle Human Research Ethics Committee and New South Wales Department of Education and School Communities. Study findings will be disseminated widely through peer-reviewed publications and relevant presentations in international conferences and to stakeholders.

Trial registration number: ACTRN12616000499482.

Keywords: NUTRITION & DIETETICS; PUBLIC HEALTH; Public health nutrition; child diet; consumer behaviour; school canteen.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interestsThe online provider (Flexischools) was selected through a competitive tender process. Flexischools is a commercial organisation which provided online canteen ordering infrastructure to schools included in the study.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Estimated participant flow through trial. Numbers based on best available information at the time of submission.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. World Health Organisation. Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health 2004. http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/goals/en/index.html. (accessed 8 Dec 2013).
    1. World Health Organization. Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases. World Health Organ Tech Rep Ser 2003;916:i.–. 1–149, backcover. - PubMed
    1. Maynard M, Gunnell D, Emmett P, et al. . Fruit, vegetables, and antioxidants in childhood and risk of adult cancer: the Boyd Orr cohort. J Epidemiol Community Health 2003;57:218–25. 10.1136/jech.57.3.218 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bell AC, Swinburn BA. What are the key food groups to target for preventing obesity and improving nutrition in schools? Eur J Clin Nutr 2004;58:258–63. 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601775 - DOI - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization. Population-based approaches to childhood obesity prevention. Geneva: World Health Organisation, 2012.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources