Food SelectionNCT07249398
Influence of Social Media Ads on Food Choice - Master Protocol
A study testing Racially Congruent Ads, Racially Incongruent Ads and Black Ads in people with Food Selection and Food Choices, run by NYU Langone Health at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This is a Master ClinicalTrials.gov Protocol for study 20-01796: Aim 1: Examining Influence of Social Media Ads on Black and White Adolescents' Food Choices - Study 1 (NCT05380505) Aim 2: A Randomized Trial to Examine the Influence of "Likes" in Social Media Food Ads on Black and White Adolescents' Food Purchases … Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 13 to 17 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Food Selection, Food Choices, Calorie Consumption
- What is being tested?
- Racially Congruent Ads, Racially Incongruent Ads and Black Ads
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 3,650 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 16 Mar 2022to Jun 2027
- Phase
- Interventional
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 13 to 17 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child
Who may be able to join
- be 13-17 years of age;
- identify as only non-Latino White or only Black/African American;
- report that they log into Facebook at least once daily; and
- read and speak English.
Who cannot join
- Any criteria not met as listed above will bar an adolescent from participating in the study.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
Sol Rego contact
United States1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
NYU Langone Health
New York, New York, 10016
About this study
Official title: Examining Influence of Social Media Ads on Black and White Adolescents' Food Choices: Master ClinicalTrials.Gov Protocol for Aim 1 (NCT05380505), Aim 2 (NCT06969638) and Aim 3 (NCT06969651).
This is a Master ClinicalTrials.gov Protocol for study 20-01796:
Aim 1: Examining Influence of Social Media Ads on Black and White Adolescents' Food Choices - Study 1 (NCT05380505)
Aim 2: A Randomized Trial to Examine the Influence of "Likes" in Social Media Food Ads on Black and White Adolescents' Food Purchases - Study 2 (NCT06969638)
Aim 3: Comparing the Effects of Racial Congruence, "Likes," and Food Images in Social Media Ads on Adolescents' Caloric Intake - Study 3 (NCT06969651)
Read the detailed description
The overall objective is to determine the extent to which racially congruent Facebook food ads influence adolescents' food purchases and actual caloric intake. The investigators are conducting three randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The first two aims involve 15-minute online surveys in which participants (Black and White adolescents) rate ads then complete a "food purchasing" task through a virtual vending machine. The third trial will involve an in-person, hour long lab study where participants will be shown ads while investigators covertly monitor their eye movements.
- Conditions
- Food Selection, Food Choices, Calorie Consumption
- Being tested
- Racially Congruent Ads, Racially Incongruent Ads, Black Ads, White Ads, Many Likes
- Medical subject headings
- Food Preferences
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Racially Congruent AdsBehavioural
(Aim 1) Facebook food ads that are racially congruent.
Racially Incongruent AdsBehavioural
(Aim 1) Facebook food ads that are racially incongruent.
Black AdsBehavioural
(Aim 2 and 3) Food ads that feature Black individuals.
White AdsBehavioural
(Aim 2 and 3) Food ads that feature White individuals.
Many LikesBehavioural
(Aim 2 and 3) Food ads that have many "likes"
Few LikesBehavioural
(Aim 2 and 3) Food ads that have few "likes"
Black-Non FoodBehavioural
(Aim 3) Ads featuring a Black person with a non-food product
White-Non FoodBehavioural
(Aim 3) Ads featuring a White person with a non-food product
Non Food-Many LikesBehavioural
(Aim 3) Ads with Many "likes" featuring a non-food product
Non Food-Few LikesBehavioural
(Aim 3) Ads with Few "likes" featuring a non-food product
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| (Aim 1) Condition 1: Race Congruent Ads | Experimental | Participants will complete a 15-minute survey in which they will be randomized to view and rate Facebook food ads associated with their condition. Then they will complete a food purchasing task in which they will shop in an online store that will display six food items and six beverages. Finally, they will answer demographic questions (e.g., self-reported height and weight) and view a debriefing summary that describes the full purpose of the study. Receives: Behavioral: Racially Congruent Ads |
| (Aim 1) Condition 2: Race Incongruent Ads | Experimental | Participants will complete a 15-minute survey in which they will be randomized to view and rate Facebook food ads associated with their condition. Then they will complete a food purchasing task in which they will shop in an online store that will display six food items and six beverages. Finally, they will answer demographic questions (e.g., self-reported height and weight) and view a debriefing summary that describes the full purpose of the study. Receives: Behavioral: Racially Incongruent Ads |
| (Aim 2) Black Many Likes | Experimental | Food ads with many "likes" and featuring Black individuals Receives: Behavioral: Black Ads; Behavioral: Many Likes |
| (Aim 2) Black Few Likes | Experimental | Food ads with few "likes" and featuring Black individuals Receives: Behavioral: Black Ads; Behavioral: Few Likes |
| (Aim 2) White Many Likes | Experimental | Food ads with many "likes" and featuring White individuals Receives: Behavioral: White Ads; Behavioral: Many Likes |
| (Aim 2) White Few Likes | Experimental | Food ads with few "likes" and featuring White individuals Receives: Behavioral: White Ads; Behavioral: Few Likes |
| (Aim 3) Block 1: Black-Food | Experimental | Exposure to ads with a Black person featuring a food product Receives: Behavioral: Black Ads |
| (Aim 3) Block 2: White-Food | Experimental | Exposure to ads with a White person featuring a food product Receives: Behavioral: White Ads |
| (Aim 3) Block 3: Black-Non Food | Experimental | Exposure to ads with a Black person featuring a non-food product Receives: Behavioral: Black-Non Food |
| (Aim 3) Block 4: White-Non Food | Experimental | Exposure to ads with a White person featuring a non-food product Receives: Behavioral: White-Non Food |
| (Aim 3) Block 5: Food-Many Likes | Experimental | Exposure to ads with many "likes" featuring a food product Receives: Behavioral: Many Likes |
| (Aim 3) Block 6: Non Food-Many Likes | Experimental | Exposure to ads with many "likes" featuring a non-food product Receives: Behavioral: Non Food-Many Likes |
| (Aim 3) Block 7: Food-Few Likes | Experimental | Exposure to ads with few "likes" featuring a food product Receives: Behavioral: Few Likes |
| (Aim 3) Block 8: Non Food-Few Likes | Experimental | Exposure to ads with few "likes" featuring a non-food product Receives: Behavioral: Non Food-Few Likes |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Number of Calories Purchased
Aim 1 Participants only.
Measured: Day 0 (approximately 15 minutes )
Number of Calories Purchased
Aim 2 Participants only.
Measured: Day 0 (approximately 5 minutes)
Caloric Intake
Aim 3 Participants only. Number of calories consumed during the study protocol.
Measured: Day 0 (approximately 60 minutes)
Visual Attention to Ad Features - First Fixation
Aim 3 Participants only. Measured as time to first fixation to the advertisement.
Measured: Day 0 (approximately 60 minutes)
Visual Attention to Ad Features - Gaze Duration
Aim 3 Participants only. Measured as the gaze duration during the advertisement.
Measured: Day 0 (approximately 60 minutes)
Visual Attention to Ad Features - Number of Fixations
Aim 3 Participants only. Measured as the number of fixations on ad features.
Measured: Day 0 (approximately 60 minutes)
Secondary outcomes (4)
Attitude Toward Ad
Aim 1 Participants only. Attitude will be reported on a Likert scale of 1 to 100 (1 = likeable, 100 = unlikeable). The higher the score, the less likeable the ad is to the participant.
Measured: Day 0 (approximately 15 minutes )
Time Spent Viewing Ad
Aim 1 Participants only.
Measured: Day 0 (approximately 15 minutes )
Attitude Toward Ad
Aim 2 Participants only. Attitude will be reported on a Likert scale of 1 to 100 (1 = likeable, 100 = unlikeable). The higher the score, the less likeable the ad is to the participant.
Measured: Day 0 (approximately 5 minutes)
Engagement with Ads
Aim 2 Participants only. Participants indicate in which ways, if any, they would engage with each ad by answering the following question: "How you would respond if you saw this ad on social media"? [Select all that apply: "Like" [heart icon and other emojis], comment, tag a friend, direct message a friend, re-post, none of the above]). The outcome is measured as the number of participants who indicate they would engage with ads.
Measured: Day 0 (approximately 5 minutes)
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted25 Nov 2025
- Study start16 Mar 2022
- Primary completionJun 2027 (estimated)
- Study completionJun 2027 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Food SelectionStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by NYU Langone HealthThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Masking
- Double blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Investigator
- Enrolment
- 3,650 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- NYU Langone Health
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Cancer Institute (NCI), New York University, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Marie A. Bragg, PhD, Principal investigator, NYU Langone Health
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07249398
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 20-01796
- Other IDs
- R01CA248441
- Status last verified
- Sep 2026
- First submitted
- 18 Nov 2025
- Last updated
- 2 Oct 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No