Comparison of Sales From Vending Machines With 4 Different Food and Beverage Messages: A Randomized Trial.

Importance: Point-of-sale food messaging can encourage healthier purchases, but no studies have directly compared multiple interventions in the field.

Objective: To examine which of 4 food and beverage messages would increase healthier vending machine purchases.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This randomized trial assessed 13 months (February 1, 2019, to February 29, 2020) of vending sales data from 267 machines and 1065 customer purchase assessments from vending machines on government property in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia Beverage Tax's Impact on Beverage Ad Expenditures and Number of Ads Purchased.

Introduction: On January 1, 2017, Philadelphia implemented a beverage excise tax. The study's objective was to determine whether beverage advertising expenditures and the number of beverage ads purchased changed in Philadelphia compared to Baltimore because of this tax.

Methods: Monthly beverage ad expenditures and the number of beverage ads purchased by brand from January 2016 through December 2019 were obtained.

Impact of the Philadelphia Beverage Tax on Perceived Beverage Healthfulness, Tax Awareness, and Tax Opinions.

Objective: To assess the impact of the Philadelphia Beverage Tax on perceived beverage healthfulness, and awareness and opinions of the tax.

Design: Natural experiment SETTING: Small independent stores in Philadelphia (n = 61) and Baltimore (untaxed control site; n = 65) PARTICIPANTS: Shoppers in Philadelphia (n = 2,731) and Baltimore (n = 4,600) pre- and post-tax implementation.

Main Outcome Measures: Perceptions of 4 beverages (unhealthy vs healthy/neutral), tax awareness, and tax opinions (oppose vs favor/neutral).

Advertising and Stocking at Small Retailers: A Sweetened Beverage Excise Tax in Philadelphia.

Introduction: In 2017, Philadelphia enacted a $0.015 per ounce excise tax on SBs that covered both sugar-sweetened beverages and artificially-sweetened beverages, which reduced purchasing and consumption. This study assessed whether the tax also changed beverage advertising or stocking practices that could influence consumer behavior among stores in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Philadelphia-adjacent counties not subject to the tax.

Effects of 4 Interpretive Front-of-Package Labeling Systems on Hypothetical Beverage and Snack Selections: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Policymakers and researchers have proposed a variety of interpretative front-of-package food labeling systems, but it remains unclear which is most effective at encouraging people to choose healthier foods and beverages, including among people with less education.

Objective: To test the effects of 4 interpretative front-of-package food labeling systems on the healthfulness of beverage and snack selections, overall and by education level.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This randomized clinical trial of a national sample of US adults 18 years and older was conducted online from November 16 to December 3, 2022.

Philadelphia Beverage Tax and Association With Prices, Purchasing, and Individual-Level Substitution in a National Pharmacy Chain.

Importance: Taxes on sweetened beverages are being implemented around the globe; an understanding of these taxes on individual-level behavior is necessary.

Objective: To evaluate the degree to which the sweetened beverage tax in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was associated with changes in beverage prices and individual-level purchasing over time at a national pharmacy chain in Philadelphia compared with Baltimore, Maryland.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Using a difference-in-differences approach and generalized linear mixed models, this cohort study examined beverage purchases made by loyalty cardholders at a national chain pharmacy retailer with stores in Philadelphia and Baltimore (control city) from before tax to after tax.

Developing Effective Strategies for Obesity Prevention.

Nutrition policies can work with clinical treatments to address the obesity epidemic. The United States has passed beverage taxes at the local level and calorie labeling mandates at the federal level to encourage healthier consumption. Nutritional changes to federal nutrition programs have been either implemented or suggested; evidence shows that the changes that have been implemented have resulted in improvements in diet quality and are cost-effective in decreasing the increase in obesity prevalence.

Naming Matters: Prompting Smaller Portions in an Online RCT.

Introduction: Large portions, which can lead people to eat more, are becoming increasingly common in U.S. restaurants.

A Descriptive Analysis of Redemption Patterns by Vendor Type Among: WIC Participants in Massachusetts.

Background: The retail environment is an important determinant of food package redemption in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Objective: The objectives of this study were to describe where Massachusetts WIC households redeemed their food benefits each month and monthly variations in benefit redemption depending on a household's most frequently used vendor type each month.

Design: These were cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of administrative data provided by Massachusetts WIC.

Child-Directed Marketing, Health Claims, and Nutrients in Popular Beverages.

Introduction: Fruit drinks are a major source of added sugar in children's diets. This study describes the associations between front-of-package child-directed marketing (i.e.

Front-of-package claims & imagery on fruit-flavored drinks and exposure by household demographics.

Young children regularly consume sugary fruit drinks, in part because parents may falsely believe they are healthful due to front-of-package (FOP) claims and imagery. The goal of this study was to assess: 1) the prevalence of FOP claims/imagery on fruit-flavored beverages purchased by U.S.

Purchases of Nontaxed Foods, Beverages, and Alcohol in a Longitudinal Cohort After Implementation of the Philadelphia Beverage Tax.

Background: Evidence suggests that sweetened beverage taxes reduce taxed beverage purchases, but few studies have used individual-level data to assess whether these taxes affect purchases of nontaxed foods, beverages, and alcohol. Additionally, research has not examined whether sweetened beverage taxes influence restaurant purchases.

Objectives: We assessed changes in individuals' purchases of taxed beverage types; low-calorie/low-added-sugar nontaxed beverages; high-calorie/high-added-sugar nontaxed beverages, foods, and alcohol; and beverages from restaurants following implementation of the 1.

A content analysis of marketing on the packages of dietary supplements for weight loss and muscle building.

Most dietary supplements for weight loss and muscle growth lack scientific evidence in support of product claims and contain ingredients that can be harmful to health. Many people, however, still use these products. This paper aims to address a gap in the knowledge of the number and types of marketing claims appearing on dietary supplements for weight loss and muscle building and how they relate to the presence of an FDA disclaimer.

A qualitative study on retailer experiences with Philadelphia's sweetened beverage tax.

The Philadelphia Beverage Tax was implemented on January 1, 2017 for some sugar- and artificially-sweetened beverages. Few qualitative studies have assessed retailers' reactions to beverage taxes. We aimed to understand food retailers' knowledge and attitudes about the Philadelphia beverage tax and how they responded to it with the goal of informing the framing and implementation of beverage taxes in other interested jurisdictions.

Association of a Sweetened Beverage Tax With Purchases of Beverages and High-Sugar Foods at Independent Stores in Philadelphia.

Importance: The relationship between a sweetened beverage tax and changes in the prices and purchases of beverages and high-sugar food is understudied in the long term and in small independent food retail stores where sugar-sweetened beverages are among the most commonly purchased items.

Objective: To examine whether a 1.5 cent-per-fluid-ounce excise tax on sugar- and artificially sweetened beverages Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was associated with sustained changes in beverage prices and purchases, as well as calories purchased from beverages and high-sugar foods, over 2 years at small independent stores.

Availability and Nutrient Composition of Vegetarian Items at US Fast-Food Restaurants.

Background: Consumer demand for vegetarian options is growing. Fast-food restaurants have responded by adding high-profile vegetarian offerings, but little is known about the overall availability or nutrient profile of vegetarian options at these establishments, or how these items compare with nonvegetarian items.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to quantify trends in the availability and nutrient profile of vegetarian items in US fast-food restaurants from 2012 to 2018.

Messages Promoting Healthy Kids' Meals: An Online RCT.

Introduction: Calorie labeling is now required on all large U.S. chain restaurant menus, but its influence on consumer behavior is mixed.

Prevalence and nutrient composition of menu offerings targeted to customers with dietary restrictions at US fast casual and full-service restaurants.

Objective: To examine the prevalence and nutrient composition of menu offerings targeted to customers with dietary restrictions at US fast casual and full-service chain restaurants.

Design: We used 2018 data from MenuStat, a database of nutrient information for menu items at large US chain restaurants. Five alternative diets were examined: gluten-free, low-calorie, low-carbohydrate, low-fat and vegetarian.

A Qualitative Study of Parents With Children 6 to 12 Years Old: Use of Restaurant Calorie Labels to Inform the Development of a Messaging Campaign.

Background: US law mandates that chain restaurants with 20 or more locations post calorie information on their menus to inform consumers and encourage healthy choices. Few qualitative studies have assessed how parents perceive and use this information when ordering for their children and what types of accompanying messages might increase use of calorie labels when ordering food.

Objective: We aimed to better understand parents' perceptions and use of calorie labeling and the types of messages that might increase use.

One-year changes in sugar-sweetened beverage consumers' purchases following implementation of a beverage tax: a longitudinal quasi-experiment.

Background: Few longitudinal studies examine the response to beverage taxes, especially among regular sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumers.

Objective: This study aimed to examine changes in objectively measured beverage purchases associated with the Philadelphia beverage tax on sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened beverages.

Methods: A longitudinal quasi-experiment was conducted with adult sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumers in Philadelphia (n = 306) and Baltimore (n = 297; a nontaxed comparison city).

Health Promotion and Healthier Products Increase Vending Purchases: A Randomized Factorial Trial.

Background: The current food environment has a high prevalence of nutrient-sparse foods and beverages, most starkly seen in vending machine offerings. There are currently few studies that explore different interventions that might lead to healthier vending machine purchases.

Objective: To examine how healthier product availability, price reductions, and/or promotional signs affect sales and revenue of snack and beverage vending machines.

Vending Machines: A Narrative Review of Factors Influencing Items Purchased.

Vending machines are a ubiquitous part of our food environments. Unfortunately, items found in vending machines tend to be processed foods and beverages high in salt, sugar, and/or fat. The purpose of this review is to describe intervention and case studies designed to promote healthier vending purchases by consumers and identify which manipulations are most effective.