Making grocery store checkouts healthier
Impact of a Healthy Checkout Policy on Healthfulness of Grocery Environments and Sales
This project checks whether removing high-sugar and high-salt items from store checkouts helps shoppers, especially adults at risk for type 2 diabetes, choose healthier foods.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California at Davis NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Davis, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11290407 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers will compare grocery stores in Berkeley, which implemented a healthy checkout policy, with stores in three similar comparison cities over several years. They will document what is displayed at checkouts and analyze store sales and purchase patterns to see whether unhealthy items decline and healthier items increase. The team will use statistical methods that create a synthetic control group and difference-in-differences comparisons to separate policy effects from other trends. Results will show whether changing checkout options can shift purchases in ways that might lower obesity and type 2 diabetes risk.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People who live in or regularly shop at grocery stores in Berkeley or the three comparison cities, particularly adults at risk for type 2 diabetes, are the most relevant population for these findings.
Not a fit: People who do not shop at participating stores or whose food choices are not influenced by checkout displays are unlikely to see direct benefit from this policy.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the policy could reduce impulse purchases of sugary drinks and snacks and help lower community rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
How similar studies have performed: Voluntary healthy checkout standards in other countries have reduced purchases of unhealthy items and increased healthier purchases, but this is the first U.S. mandatory checkout policy being followed over time.
Where this research is happening
Davis, United States
- University of California at Davis — Davis, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Falbe, Jennifer — University of California at Davis
- Study coordinator: Falbe, Jennifer
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.