Impact of front-of-pack nutrition information and label design on children's choice of two snack foods: Comparison of warnings and the traffic-light system.

Alejandra Arrúa, María Rosa Curutchet, Natalia Rey, Patricia Barreto, Nadya Golovchenko, Andrea Sellanes, Guillermo Velazco, Medy Winokur, Ana Giménez, Gastón Ares

Journal: Appetite 2018;116():139-146

PMID: 28428151

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Abstract

Research on the relative influence of package features on children's perception of food products is still necessary to aid policy design and development. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the relative influence of two front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition labelling schemes, the traffic light system and Chilean warning system, and label design on children's choice of two popular snack foods in Uruguay, wafer cookies and orange juice. A total of 442 children in grades 4 to 6 from 12 primary schools in Montevideo (Uruguay) participated in the study. They were asked to complete a choice-conjoint task with wafer cookies and orange juice labels, varying in label design and the inclusion of FOP nutrition information. Half of the children completed the task with labels featuring the traffic-light system (n = 217) and the other half with labels featuring the Chilean warning system (n = 225). Children's choices of wafer cookies and juice labels was significantly influenced by both label design and FOP nutritional labels. The relative impact of FOP nutritional labelling on children's choices was higher for the warning system compared to the traffic-light system. Results from the present work stress the need to regulate the design of packages and the inclusion of nutrient claims, and provide preliminary evidence of the potential of warnings to discourage children's choice of unhealthful products.

Address: Centro de Investigación Básica en Psicología, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Tristán Narvaja 1674, CP 11200, Montevideo, Uruguay.; Observatorio de Seguridad Alimentaria, Instituto Nacional de Alimentación, Piedras 165, C.P. 11000, Montevideo, Uruguay.; Programa Nutrición, Servicio de Atención a la Salud, División Salud, Intendencia de Montevideo, Uruguay.; Sensometrics & Consumer Science, Instituto Polo Tecnológico de Pando, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, By Pass de Rutas 8 y 101 s/n, C.P. 91000, Pando, Canelones, Uruguay.; Centro de Investigación Básica en Psicología, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Tristán Narvaja 1674, CP 11200, Montevideo, Uruguay; Sensometrics & Consumer Science, Instituto Polo Tecnológico de Pando, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, By Pass de Rutas 8 y 101 s/n, C.P. 91000, Pando, Canelones, Uruguay. Electronic address: [email protected].

DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2017.04.012

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MeSH Terms: Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Child, Child Behavior, Choice Behavior, Citrus sinensis, Diet, Healthy, Fast Foods, Female, Food Packaging, Food Preferences, Food Quality, Fruit and Vegetable Juices, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Humans, Male, Nutritive Value, Patient Compliance, Snacks, Uruguay