Socioeconomic position and the effect of price interventions on healthier and less healthy food on food selection in a simulated food delivery app: a randomised controlled trial
- 1Division of Musculoskeletal & Dermatological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Manchester, UK
- 2Department of Psychology, Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool, UK
- 3School of Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, UK
Abstract
Objective:: We examined the effects of price interventions on the healthiness of a hypothetical food order in a simulated online out-of-home food delivery app.
Design:: The design was a randomised controlled trial, with four conditions (10 % taxation of less healthy menu items; 10 % subsidy of healthier menu items; a combination of taxation and subsidy; standard pricing), and recruitment was stratified by socioeconomic position (SEP). Primary outcomes were healthier v. less healthy main meal selected and total kilocalories (kcals) selected.
Setting:: Participants selected a hypothetical evening meal from out-of-home food outlets on a simulated online food delivery app.
Participants:: N 3106 adult participants from the UK were randomised into taxation (n 750), subsidies (n 808), a combination of taxation and subsidies (n 769), and standard pricing (n 779). 57–58 % of participants were of higher SEP.
Results:: There were no statistically significant effects of the pricing interventions on whether a healthy v. less healthy main meal was selected (e.g. taxation v. control OR 0·91 (95 % CI 0·74, 1·12); subsidies v. control OR 1·08 (95 % CI 0·89, 1·31)) or on total kcals selected (e.g. taxation v. control regression coefficient −44·31 (95 % CI −95·90, 7·28); subsidies v. control regression coefficient −7·94 (95 % CI −60·23, 44·35)). There was no evidence that effects differed by SEP.
Conclusions:: We found no convincing evidence that 10 % changes in price of healthy and less healthy food in a simulated out-of-home food delivery app significantly impacted on healthiness of food selected. Further research may benefit from examining effects of larger price changes and in real-world purchasing conditions.
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BibTeX
@article{witkam2026socioeconomic,
title = {{Socioeconomic position and the effect of price interventions on healthier and less healthy food on food selection in a simulated food delivery app: a randomised controlled trial}},
author = {Rozemarijn Witkam and Jane Brealey and Loukia Tzavella and Amy Finlay and Andrew Jones and Eric Robinson},
journal = {Public Health Nutrition},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1017/s1368980026103334},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1017/s1368980026103334},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Socioeconomic position and the effect of price interventions on healthier and less healthy food on food selection in a simulated food delivery app: a randomised controlled trial
AU - Rozemarijn Witkam
AU - Jane Brealey
AU - Loukia Tzavella
AU - Amy Finlay
AU - Andrew Jones
AU - Eric Robinson
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/10
JO - Public Health Nutrition
DO - 10.1017/s1368980026103334
UR - https://doi.org/10.1017/s1368980026103334
AB - Objective:: We examined the effects of price interventions on the healthiness of a hypothetical food order in a simulated online out-of-home food delivery app. Design:: The design was a randomised controlled trial, with four conditions (10 % taxation of less healthy menu items; 10 % subsidy of healthier menu items; a combination of taxation and subsidy; standard pricing), and recruitment was stratified by socioeconomic position (SEP). Primary outcomes were healthier v. less healthy main meal selected and total kilocalories (kcals) selected. Setting:: Participants selected a hypothetical evening meal from out-of-home food outlets on a simulated online food delivery app. Participants:: N 3106 adult participants from the UK were randomised into taxation (n 750), subsidies (n 808), a combination of taxation and subsidies (n 769), and standard pricing (n 779). 57–58 % of participants were of higher SEP. Results:: There were no statistically significant effects of the pricing interventions on whether a healthy v. less healthy main meal was selected (e.g. taxation v. control OR 0·91 (95 % CI 0·74, 1·12); subsidies v. control OR 1·08 (95 % CI 0·89, 1·31)) or on total kcals selected (e.g. taxation v. control regression coefficient −44·31 (95 % CI −95·90, 7·28); subsidies v. control regression coefficient −7·94 (95 % CI −60·23, 44·35)). There was no evidence that effects differed by SEP. Conclusions:: We found no convincing evidence that 10 % changes in price of healthy and less healthy food in a simulated out-of-home food delivery app significantly impacted on healthiness of food selected. Further research may benefit from examining effects of larger price changes and in real-world purchasing conditions.
SN - 1368-9800
SN - 1475-2727
ER -