The effect of changes in visibility and price on fruit purchasing at a university cafeteria in Lima, Peru.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of increasing fruit visibility, adding information and lowering price on fruit purchasing at a university cafeteria in Lima, Peru. DESIGN: Quasi-experimental pilot study of a three-phase stepped intervention. In Phase 1, fruit was displayed >3 m from the point of purchase with no additional information. Phase 2 consisted in displaying the fruit near the point of purchase with added health and price information. Phase 3 added a 33% price reduction. The duration of each phase was 3 weeks and phases were separated by 2-week breaks. Primary outcomes were total pieces of fruit and number of meals sold daily. SETTING: A university cafeteria in Lima, Peru. SUBJECTS: Approximately 150 people, students and non-student adults, who purchased food daily. Twelve students participated in post-intervention interviews. RESULTS: Fruit purchasing doubled from Phase 1 to Phase 3 (P<0·01) and remained significant after adjusting for the number of meals sold daily (P<0·05). There was no evidence of a difference in fruit sold between the other phases. Females purchased 100% of the fruit in Phase 1, 82% in Phase 2 and 67% in Phase 3 (P<0·01). Males increased their purchasing significantly between Phase 1 and 3 (P<0·01). Non-student adults purchased more fruit with each phase (P<0·05) whereas students did not. Qualitatively, the most common reason for not purchasing fruit was a marked preference to buy unhealthy snack foods. CONCLUSIONS: Promoting fruit consumption by product placement close to the point of purchase, adding health information and price reduction had a positive effect on fruit purchasing in a university cafeteria, especially in males and non-student adults.