The purpose of this study is to conduct a discrete choice experiment to investigate whether warning labels on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSBs) alter the effectiveness of a tax on SSBs, especially among parents who are Black, Latinx and lower income. The research team will conduct an online choice experiment with 2,700 parents and caregivers of children who are 5 years old or younger. Participants will be assigned to one of three SSB warning label conditions (no label, text-only label, and icon label) and will be asked a series of 8 choice questions where they must choose between different beverages as their prices are varied through the addition of different tax rates. Specific aims include: (1) estimate the sensitivity to changes in SSB prices of parents’ purchases of SSBs for young children; (2) determine the effect of two different warning labels on parents’ purchases of SSBs and perceptions of these beverages; (3) assess whether warning labels make parents more or less sensitive to changes in SSB price; and (4) evaluate how these effects differ across income and racial/ethnic groups (especially for parents who are Black and Latinx).
Start Date: April 2021
ID #: 283-4132
Principal Investigator: Dallas Wood BA, ME, PhD
Organization: Research Triangle Institute
Funding Round: SSB4
Race/Ethnicity: African American or Black, Latino(a) or Hispanic
Focus Areas: Beverages, Early Childhood, Pricing & Economics
Keywords: Front-of-package labeling, Sugar-sweetened beverages, Taxes
Resource Type: Grant Summary
Age Groups: Pregnant women, infants and toddlers (ages 0 to 2), Preschool-age children (ages 3 to 5)
Related Research
September 2023
Screening for Beverage Consumption in Early Childhood using Electronic Health Records
Establishing healthy beverage patterns during early childhood (ages 0 to 5 years) is important for promoting healthy growth and development in childhood and reducing risk of chronic diseases as an adult. Health care providers play an essential role in identifying and addressing unhealthy beverage consumption patterns in young children and helping families develop healthy beverage MoreMay 2023
Toddler milk: a scoping review of research on consumption, perceptions, and marketing practices
Toddler milk is an ultra-processed beverage consisting primarily of powdered milk, caloric sweeteners, and vegetable oil. Pediatric health authorities do not support the use of toddler milk, and emerging evidence suggests that toddler-milk marketing practices may mislead consumers. However, studies have not synthesized the extent of toddler-milk marketing practices or how these practices affect parents’ MoreMay 2023