The effect of playing advergames that promote energy-dense snacks or fruit on actual food intake among children

ISRCTN	ISRCTN17013832
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN17013832
Secondary identifying numbers	N/A

Submission date: 14/09/2012
Registration date: 02/11/2012
Last edited: 08/08/2016

Recruitment status: No longer recruiting
Overall study status: Completed
Condition category: Nutritional, Metabolic, Endocrine

Prospectively registered

Protocol

Statistical analysis plan

Results

Individual participant data

Plain English summary of protocol

Background and study aims
Previous studies have looked at the effects of television advertising on children’s food intake. However, we need to measure the effects of non-traditional forms of marketing on children’s behavior. An advergame is a video game that contains an advertisement for a product, service, or company. The aim of this study is to find out whether playing advergames promoting high-calorie snacks or fruit affect food intake among children.

Who can participate?
Children aged 8-10.

What does the study involve?
The children are randomly allocated to either play an advergame promoting high-calorie snacks, fruit, or toys, or to not play a game at all. The children’s intake of snacks and fruit is then measured. The children complete questionnaires and are weighed and measured.

What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
There were no benefits or risks of participating.

Where is the study run from?
Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR), University of Amsterdam (Netherlands)

When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
November 2011 to February 2012

Who is funding the study?
Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR), University of Amsterdam (Netherlands)

Who is the main contact?
Frans Folkvord
f.folkvord@uva.nl

Contact information

Mr Frans Folkvord
Scientific

Kloveniersburgwal 48
Amsterdam
1012 CX
Netherlands

Email	f.folkvord@uva.nl

Study information

Study design	Randomized between-subject design
Primary study design	Interventional
Secondary study design	Randomised controlled trial
Study setting(s)	Other
Study type	Other
Participant information sheet	Not available in web format, please use the contact details below to request a patient information sheet
Scientific title	The effect of playing advergames that promote energy-dense snacks or fruit on actual food intake among children: a randomised study
Study objectives	1. Children that play an advergame containing energy-dense snacks will eat more energy-dense snacks afterwards. 2. Children that play an advergame containing fruit will eat more fruit afterwards.
Ethics approval(s)	Amsterdam School of Communication Research/ASCoR, 17/11/2011, ref: ASCoR-u-2011-03
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied	Obesity
Intervention	The children were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions, which involved playing 1.The energy-dense snacks advergame (i.e., promoting a popular candy brand and 8 different gummy and jelly sweets from this popular candy brand) 2. The fruit advergame (i.e., promoting a popular fruit brand and 8 different fruits, fruit drinks, or cups with fruit from this popular brand) 3. The nonfood advergame (i.e., promoting a popular Dutch toy brand and 8 individual toys from this popular toy brand); or 4. No game at all (control condition). We randomized the conditions within schools and the conditions were counterbalanced to start with a different condition every day, so that none of the conditions were tested more in the morning or just before or after the break. The order of conditions was also counterbalanced to avoid any order effects. A professional game designer designed the advergames. All games were identical, except for the advertised brands and products. The game involved a memory game with 16 cards, whereby the brands appeared on the back of the cards, and the individual products (candy, fruit, or toys) appeared on the front of the cards. These products clearly displayed the brand logos. Furthermore, we showed the brand on the right side of the screen to enhance the awareness of the advertised brand. Similar to regular advergames, we integrated two specific features to immerse the children into the game. First, a digital timer appeared on the top-left of the screen, and a time bar appeared in the top center of the screen to exert time pressure on the children. Second, the game played an unpleasant sound when a child selected a false pair and a pleasant sound when a child selected a correct pair. All children were presented four bowls that contained four different food snacks. Two bowls contained energy-dense food snacks, (1) jelly candy (cola bottles) and (2) milk chocolate candy shells; and two bowls contained sliced fruit snacks, (3) bananas and (4) apples. Two bowls of test food, such as cola bottles and bananas, were identical to one of the food products shown in the advergame. In addition to these food snacks, we used other popular candy (milk chocolate candy shells) and fruit (apples) to test possible spill-over effects.
Intervention type	Behavioural
Primary outcome measure	1. Kcal intake of fruit, energy dense snacks, and total. We preweighed the bowls that contained food and measured it again after the child left the room. We calculated kcal according to the amount they ate.
Secondary outcome measures	1. Hunger [Visual analogue scales (VAS scale)]: not hungry - very hungry 2. Age, gender
Overall study start date	01/10/2011
Completion date	02/02/2012

Eligibility

Participant type(s)	Healthy volunteer
Age group	Child
Lower age limit	8 Years
Upper age limit	10 Years
Sex	Both
Target number of participants	270
Key inclusion criteria	Children (girls and boys) between 8-10 years
Key exclusion criteria	1. Children younger than 8 years or older than 10 years 2. Children allergic to one of the test foods
Date of first enrolment	01/10/2011
Date of final enrolment	02/02/2012

Locations

Countries of recruitment

Netherlands

Study participating centre

Kloveniersburgwal 48

Amsterdam
1012 CX
Netherlands

Sponsor information

Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR) (Netherlands)
University/education

Kloveniersburgwal 48
Amsterdam
1012 CX
Netherlands

Email	f.folkvord@uva.nl
"ROR"	https://ror.org/04dkp9463

Funders

Funder type

University/education

Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR), University of Amsterdam (Netherlands)

No information available

Results and Publications

Intention to publish date
Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share	No
IPD sharing plan summary	Not provided at time of registration
Publication and dissemination plan	Not provided at time of registration
IPD sharing plan

Study outputs

Output type	Details	Date created	Date added	Peer reviewed?	Patient-facing?
Results article	results	01/02/2013		Yes	No
Results article	results	09/02/2016		Yes	No

Editorial Notes

08/08/2016: Publication reference added.