ObesityNCT07528443
Ultraprocessed Foods in Colombia
A study testing Warning label, Character and Without character in people with Obesity, run by University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill at 1 site in Colombia.
Trial summary
The study seeks to examine how characters on packaging and warning labels affect purchase intentions and risk perception among children aged 12 to 17 in Colombia and, examine whether characters' presence weakens or reduces the perceived message effectiveness of the warning labels' impact. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 12 to 17 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Obesity
- What is being tested?
- Warning label, Character and Without character
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 2,000 participants
- Where
- 1 siteColombia
- Study dates
- 25 Jun 2026to 15 Aug 2026
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
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 12 to 17 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child
Who may be able to join
- Children and adolescents between 12 and 17 years old
- Colombian residents
Who cannot join
- Children with legal blindness, partial blindness, or total blindness, since the study involves viewing images and reading questions.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
The study seeks to examine how characters on packaging and warning labels affect purchase intentions and risk perception among children aged 12 to 17 in Colombia and, examine whether characters' presence weakens or reduces the perceived message effectiveness of the warning labels' impact. This will be a 2x2 between-subjects experiment manipulating presence or absence of characters and presence or absence of warning labels. Participants will be randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions in an online survey programmed in Qualtrics.
Read the detailed description
This study will employ a 2x2 between-subjects experimental design to investigate the independent and combined effects of characters and front-of-package warning labels on children's risk perceptions, purchase intentions and perceived message effectiveness regarding ultra-processed foods.
After parents or legal guardians provide informed consent and the children assent to participate, the survey platform (Qualtrics) will randomly assign each child to one of four experimental conditions:
- Warning label + Character
- Warning label only
- Barcode control label + Character
- Barcode control label only
Participants will complete the study online through a self-administered survey programmed in Qualtrics. This survey has a duration of approximately 15 minutes. Each child will be exposed to three fictional ultra-processed food products (cookies package, juice bottle, and chip bag), displayed in random order. The stimuli were developed to resemble common products in Colombia but without using real brands to avoid brand loyalty bias. Each product will be displayed with a label consistent with the child's assigned experimental condition.
Children will respond to a series of questions for each product individually. These questions will assess:
- Risk perception
- Purchase intention
- Perceived message effectiveness
- Conditions
- Obesity
- Being tested
- Warning label, Barcode control label, Character, Without character
- Medical subject headings
- Obesity
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Warning labelBehavioural
Participants will view images of three products containing octagonal warning labels.
Barcode control labelBehavioural
Participants will view images of three products containing Barcode control label.
CharacterBehavioural
Participants will view images of three products containing characters.
Without characterBehavioural
Participants will view images of three products without characters.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Warning label + Character | Experimental | Not described Receives: Behavioral: Warning label; Behavioral: Character |
| Barcode control label + Character | Experimental | Not described Receives: Behavioral: Barcode control label; Behavioral: Character |
| Warning label only | Experimental | Not described Receives: Behavioral: Warning label; Behavioral: Without character |
| Barcode control label only | Other | Not described Receives: Behavioral: Barcode control label; Behavioral: Without character |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Purchase intention
Purchase intention will be assessed using 1 item: "How likely are you to consume this product?" Responses will be recorded on a 5-point Likert-style scale ranging from 1 ("Not at all likely") to 5 ("Very likely"). Because this is a single-item measure, the total score ranges from 1 to 5. Higher scores indicate greater purchase intention, whereas lower scores indicate lower purchase intention.
Measured: During ~15 minute online survey
Risk perception
Risk perception will be assessed using 1 item: "How healthy do you think this product is?" Responses will be recorded on a 5-point Likert-style scale ranging from 1 ("Not healthy at all") to 5 ("Very healthy"). Because this is a single-item measure, the total score ranges from 1 to 5. Higher scores indicate that the product is perceived as healthier (i.e., lower perceived risk), whereas lower scores indicate that the product is perceived as less healthy (i.e., higher perceived risk).
Measured: During ~15 minute online survey
Secondary outcomes (1)
Perceived Message Effectiveness
Perceived message effectiveness will be assessed using 3 items, each measured on a 5-point Likert-style scale (1-5):
"How much does this label make you worry about what consuming this product will do to you?" (1 = Not at all worried; 5 = Extremely worried) "How much does this label make you think consuming this product is a bad idea?" (1 = Makes me think it's a very good idea to consume it; 5 = Makes me think it's a very bad idea to consume it) "How much does this label discourage you from consuming this product?"
(1 = Doesn't discourage me at all; 5 = Completely discourages me) For each product evaluated, a perceived message effectiveness score will be calculated as the mean of the 3 items, resulting in a score ranging from 1 to 5. Higher scores indicate greater perceived message effectiveness, whereas lower scores indicate lower perceived message effectiveness.
Measured: During ~15 minute online survey
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted14 Apr 2026
- Study start25 Jun 2026
- Primary completion15 Aug 2026
- Study completion15 Aug 2026
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for ObesityStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University of North Carolina, Chapel HillThe 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
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 2,000 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- The Bloomberg Family Foundation, Inc., Pontificia Universidad Javeriana
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Maria Parra-Murillo, Principal investigator, University of North Carolina, Chapel HillMarissa Hall, PhD, Study director, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07528443
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 24-2935
- Status last verified
- May 2026
- First submitted
- 7 Apr 2026
- Last updated
- 3 Sep 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 3 Sep 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Ultraprocessed Foods in Colombia
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07528443
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 24-2935
- Conditions
- Obesity
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 2,000 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of North Carolina, Chapel HillUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- The Bloomberg Family Foundation, Inc., Pontificia Universidad Javeriana
- Study start
- 25 Jun 2026 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 15 Aug 2026 (actual)
- Study completion
- 15 Aug 2026 (actual)
- First posted
- 14 Apr 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The study seeks to examine how characters on packaging and warning labels affect purchase intentions and risk perception among children aged 12 to 17 in Colombia and, examine whether characters' presence weakens or reduces the perceived message effectiveness of the warning labels' impact. This will be a 2x2 between-subjects experiment manipulating presence or absence of characters and presence or absence of warning labels. Participants will be randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions in an online survey programmed in Qualtrics.
Detailed description
This study will employ a 2x2 between-subjects experimental design to investigate the independent and combined effects of characters and front-of-package warning labels on children's risk perceptions, purchase intentions and perceived message effectiveness regarding ultra-processed foods.
After parents or legal guardians provide informed consent and the children assent to participate, the survey platform (Qualtrics) will randomly assign each child to one of four experimental conditions:
- Warning label + Character
- Warning label only
- Barcode control label + Character
- Barcode control label only
Participants will complete the study online through a self-administered survey programmed in Qualtrics. This survey has a duration of approximately 15 minutes. Each child will be exposed to three fictional ultra-processed food products (cookies package, juice bottle, and chip bag), displayed in random order. The stimuli were developed to resemble common products in Colombia but without using real brands to avoid brand loyalty bias. Each product will be displayed with a label consistent with the child's assigned experimental condition.
Children will respond to a series of questions for each product individually. These questions will assess:
- Risk perception
- Purchase intention
- Perceived message effectiveness
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 4
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Warning label + Character | Experimental | Behavioral: Warning label, Behavioral: Character |
| Barcode control label + Character | Experimental | Behavioral: Barcode control label, Behavioral: Character |
| Warning label only | Experimental | Behavioral: Warning label, Behavioral: Without character |
| Barcode control label only | Other | Behavioral: Barcode control label, Behavioral: Without character |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 12 to 17 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Children and adolescents between 12 and 17 years old
- Colombian residents
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Children with legal blindness, partial blindness, or total blindness, since the study involves viewing images and reading questions.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Warning labelParticipants will view images of three products containing octagonal warning labels. | Behavioural | Warning label + Character, Warning label only |
| Barcode control labelParticipants will view images of three products containing Barcode control label. | Behavioural | Barcode control label + Character, Barcode control label only |
| CharacterParticipants will view images of three products containing characters. | Behavioural | Barcode control label + Character, Warning label + Character |
| Without characterParticipants will view images of three products without characters. | Behavioural | Barcode control label only, Warning label only |
Primary outcome
Purchase intention
Time frame: During ~15 minute online survey
Purchase intention will be assessed using 1 item: "How likely are you to consume this product?" Responses will be recorded on a 5-point Likert-style scale ranging from 1 ("Not at all likely") to 5 ("Very likely"). Because this is a single-item measure, the total score ranges from 1 to 5. Higher scores indicate greater purchase intention, whereas lower scores indicate lower purchase intention.
Risk perception
Time frame: During ~15 minute online survey
Risk perception will be assessed using 1 item: "How healthy do you think this product is?" Responses will be recorded on a 5-point Likert-style scale ranging from 1 ("Not healthy at all") to 5 ("Very healthy"). Because this is a single-item measure, the total score ranges from 1 to 5. Higher scores indicate that the product is perceived as healthier (i.e., lower perceived risk), whereas lower scores indicate that the product is perceived as less healthy (i.e., higher perceived risk).
1 secondary outcome
Perceived Message Effectiveness
Time frame: During ~15 minute online survey
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 3 Sep 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Maria Parra-Murillo principal investigator
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Marissa Hall, PhD study director
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Warning label, Character and Without character in people with Obesity, run by University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill at 1 site in Colombia.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 3 Sep 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Colombia. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Purchase intention (time frame: During ~15 minute online survey). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 3 Sep 2026.