# Multi-Level Trial of a Workplace Sales Ban of Sugary Beverages and Brief Motivational Counseling Intervention on Adiposity

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2024 · $562,258

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
 Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs, e.g., sodas, sports drinks, “fruit” drinks, bottled teas, coffees) have
emerged as a key dietary risk factor for obesity and type 2 diabetes. We propose a double-randomized
controlled trial of a multilevel workplace intervention that combines an employer-sponsored sales ban on SSBs
with brief motivational counseling to support reduced consumption. Health systems and schools are
increasingly adopting sales bans of SSBs and replacing them with healthier options. Employer-based brief
counseling interventions, despite being low-cost and highly efficacious for alcohol and tobacco reduction, have
received limited attention as a strategy to reduce SSB consumption. A multilevel intervention combining both
strategies may be the most effective: the brief counseling intervention can increase motivation to reduce SSBs
despite cravings while the sales ban removes SSB-related availability and cues from the workplace. Our pilot
data strongly support the rationale for combining these interventions and for the mediating role of SSB
cravings.
 The proposed trial tests this multilevel intervention, called the workplace Metabolic Health Improvement
Program (MHIP), in partnership with a Northern California-based academic healthcare system, Sutter Health
(enrolling N=700 employees on N=16 hospital campuses). The first randomization will assign hospital
campuses to the employer-sponsored sales ban on SSBs (8 sites) versus control (8 sites). The second
randomization will assign employees to the brief counseling intervention versus control, split equally across
sales ban and control sites. We assess anthropometrics and blood at baseline and 12 months. The primary
outcome is change in central obesity (e.g., waist circumference). Secondary outcomes include changes in SSB
consumption, Body Mass Index (BMI), serum insulin sensitivity (homeostatic model assessment [HOMA]), and
lipids. Dietary and beverage composition is assessed remotely using the Automated Self-Administered 24-
Hour recall (ASA-24) at baseline, 6 and 12 months.
 The first aim of this research is to assess the independent effects of the brief counseling intervention
and workplace SSB sales ban on changes in primary and secondary outcomes. The second aim is to test the
multilevel effects of combining the brief intervention and SSB sales ban on outcomes. A third, exploratory aim
examines whether reductions in SSB cravings mediate the effects of the multilevel intervention on outcomes.
If effective, the employer-sponsored multilevel intervention will offer an efficient, scalable strategy for
preventing obesity and metabolic disease in millions of American working adults.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10809742
- **Project number:** 5R01DK132870-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Elissa S. Epel
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $562,258
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-04-15 → 2027-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10809742

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10809742, Multi-Level Trial of a Workplace Sales Ban of Sugary Beverages and Brief Motivational Counseling Intervention on Adiposity (5R01DK132870-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10809742. Licensed CC0.

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