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Table 1 Population characteristics for control and experimental conditions

From: Less meat in the shopping basket. The effect on meat purchases of higher prices, an information nudge and the combination: a randomised controlled trial

 

Total population (n = 533)

Control condition (n = 153)

Price condition (n = 133)

Information nudge condition (n = 126)

Combination condition (n = 121)

Sex

 Male

253

47·5%

75

49·0%

67

50·4%

58

46·0%

53

43·8%

 Female

278

52·2%

78

51·0%

65

48·9%

67

53·2%

68

56·2%

 Other

2

0·4%

0

0·0%

1

0·8%

1

0·8%

0

0·0%

Age (years)

48·3

16·2

48·6

16·3

48·4

15·9

46·9

16·7

49·3

15·8

Household size

2·3

1·2

2·3

1·3

2·2

1·1

2·4

1·3

2·4

1·2

 % persons > 13 y

29·1

28·4

28·5

26·8

29·7

29·7

28·4

28·7

29·9

29·0

Educational level

 Low

83

15·6%

20

13·1%

23

17·3%

23

18·3%

17

14·0%

 Moderate

180

33·8%

45

29·4%

41

30·8%

42

33·3%

52

43·0%

 High

270

50·7%

88

57·5%

69

51·9%

61

48·4%

52

43·0%

BMI (kg/m2)

26·5

5·8

27·5

6·0

25·9

5·5

26·7

5·9

25·6

5·5

Weight statusa

 Normal weight < 25

243

45·6%

65

42·5%

64

48·1%

58

46·0%

56

46·3%

 Overweight (≥25–30)

171

32·1%

50

32·7%

39

29·3%

38

30·2%

44

36·4%

 Obese (> 30)

107

20·1%

37

24·2%

25

18·8%

28

22·2%

17

14·0%

Meat consumption (frequency/week)

 0

34

6·4%

9

5·9%

8

6·0%

6

4·8%

11

9·1%

  < 1

8

1·5%

3

2·0%

2

1·5%

1

0·8%

2

1·7%

 1–2

71

13·3%

22

14·4%

18

13·8%

15

11·9%

16

13·2%

 3–4

179

33·6%

38

24·8%

51

38·3%

42

33·3%

48

49·7%

 5–7

241

45·2%

81

52·9%

54

40·6%

62

49·2%

44

36·4%

Type of (meat) consumer

 Vegan

7

1·3%

0

0·0%

4

3·0%

1

0·8%

2

1·7%

 Vegetarian

20

3·8%

8

5·2%

3

2·3%

4

3·2%

5

4·1%

 Pescatarian

5

0·9%

1

0·7%

1

0·8%

1

0·8%

2

1·7%

 Flexitarian

20

35·3%

48

31·4%

46

34·6%

45

35·7%

49

40·5%

 Meat consumer

313

58·7%

96

62·7%

79

59·4%

75

59·5%

63

52·1%

Purchased meat

 Yes

471

88·4%

138

90·2%

117

88·0%

114

90·5%

102

84·3%

 No

62

11·6%

15

9·8%

16

12·0%

12

9·5%

19

15·7%

Grocery responsibility

 Entirely

337

63·2%

99

64·7%

87

65·4%

78

61·9%

73

60·3%

 Largely

196

36·8%

54

35·3%

46

34·6%

48

38·1%

48

49·7%

Household monthly income (gross in €)

 Low (0–2000)

136

25·5%

38

24·8%

34

25·6%

26

20·6%

38

31·4%

 Moderate (2000–3000)

135

25·3%

37

24·2%

41

30·8%

33

26·2%

24

19·8%

 High (3000+)

262

49·2%

78

51·0%

58

43·6%

67

53·2%

59

48·8%

Household weekly food expenditures (in €)

 0–59

170

31·9%

52

34·0%

42

31·6%

40

31·7%

36

29·8%

 60–99

205

38·5%

55

35·9%

49

36·8%

53

42·1%

48

39·7%

  ≥ 100

158

39·6%

46

30·1%

42

31·6%

33

26·2%

37

30·6%

Changed purchases due to COVID-19

 No

442

82·9%

124

81·0%

112

84·2%

99

78·6%

107

88·4%

 Yes

91

17·1%

29

19·0%

21

15·8%

27

21·4%

14

11·6%

Shopping budget in virtual supermarket (in €)

87·10

31·69

87·11

34·37

85·05

30·28

89·33

34·52

87·02

26·34

 % of budget spent

83·4

21·7

84·2

19·8

84·6

21·4

83·4

22·3

81·3

23·6

Total expenditure (€)

71·24

28·23

72·28

30·40

70·29

26·37

72·58

27·78

69·58

28·06

Appreciation of shopping budget

 More than usual

165

31·0%

49

32·0%

32

24·1%

47

37·3%

37

30·6%

 Same as usual

256

48·0%

71

46·2%

67

50·4%

62

49·2%

56

46·3%

 Less than usual

112

21·0%

33

21·6%

34

25·6%

17

13·5%

28

23·1%

Price awarenessb

4·0

1·6

3·9

1·6

4·1

1·6

3·8

1·7

4·1

1·6

Understanding virtual supermarketc

4·6

0·6

4·5

0·6

4·6

0·6

4·5

0·6

4·6

0·7

Comparability to real-life purchasesd

4·1

0·8

4·0

0·8

4·1

0·8

4·1

0·8

4·0

0·8

  1. Data are n (%) or mean (SD). BMI Body Mass Index
  2. a12 missing values
  3. bMeasured by one item “The program was easy to understand” indicated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 “strongly disagree” to 5 “strongly agree”
  4. cMeasured by two items “To what extent did you notice prices in the virtual supermarket?” and “To what extent did prices influence your choices in the virtual supermarket?” indicated on a seven-point Likert scale ranging from 1 “not at all” to 7 “extremely”
  5. dMeasured by one item “The products I have purchased in the virtual supermarket are comparable to my regular food purchases in real-life” indicated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 “strongly agree” to 5 “strongly agree”
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BMC Public Health

ISSN: 1471-2458

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