Study design
overweight or obese status
In the current RCT, qualified supermarket shoppers with overweight or obese status were allocated to receive a 30%, 15%, or 0% (control) discount on fruits, vegetables, and non-caloric beverages. The study had an 8-week baseline period, a 32-week intervention period, and a 16-week follow-up period. Hospital visits took place at weeks 0, 8, 24 (halfway during the intervention), 40 (end of intervention) and 56. As the study is still ongoing and undergoing data checking and analysis, we report the interim results for those who reached the halfway mark of the intervention period at week 24. The length of the study, 13-months for each participant, and a 7-month hospital-mandated hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 to November 2020, during which there was an increase in drop-out rate, raised a concern that there would be fewer participants completing the study than the number who reached the midpoint. All these reasons made it worthwhile to report the interim findings. This study was conducted according to the guidelines in the Declaration of Helsinki and all procedures involving research study participants were approved by the Icahn School of Medicine Institutional Review Board. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants. As a randomized controlled trial, this study was registered with 