5-a-day fruit and vegetable food product labels: reduced fruit and vegetable consumption following an exaggerated compared to a modest label

K M Appleton,H J Pidgeon

doi:10.1186/s12889-018-5528-0

K M Appleton, H J Pidgeon

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5528-0

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Abstract

BackgroundFood product labels based on the WHO 5-a-day fruit and vegetable (FV) message are becoming increasingly common, but these labels may impact negatively on complementary or subsequent FV consumption. This study aimed to investigate the impact of a ‘3 of your 5-a-day’ versus a ‘1 of your 5-a-day’ smoothie product label on subsequent FV consumption.MethodsUsing an acute experimental design, 194 participants (90 males, 104 females) were randomised to consume a smoothie labelled as either ‘3 of your 5-a-day’ (N = 97) or ‘1 of your 5-a-day’ (N = 97) in full, following a usual breakfast. Subsequent FV consumption was measured for the rest of the day using 24-h recall. Usual FV consumption was also assessed via 24-h recall for the day before the study.ResultsRegression analyses revealed a significantly lower subsequent FV consumption following smoothies displaying the ‘3 of your 5-a-day’ label compared to the ‘1 of your 5-a-day’ label (Beta = − 0.15, p = 0.04). Secondary analyses revealed these effects to be driven mainly by changes to consumption in usual high FV consumers, in females and in vegetable as opposed to fruit consumption.ConclusionsThese findings demonstrate a role for label information in food intake, and the potential negative impacts of an exaggerated food product label on healthy food consumption and healthy dietary profiles.

Highlights

Food product labels based on the WHO 5-a-day fruit and vegetable (FV) message are becoming increasingly common, but these labels may impact negatively on complementary or subsequent FV consumption
One example of this is the addition of labels to fruit and vegetable (FV) food products based on contribution to World Health Organization and/or Government guidelines for health [1,2,3]
Whether through licencing or goal adherence, this study aimed to investigate the impact on subsequent FV consumption of a ‘3 of your 5-a-day’ versus a ‘1 of your 5-a-day’ FV product label

Summary

Introduction

Food product labels based on the WHO 5-a-day fruit and vegetable (FV) message are becoming increasingly common, but these labels may impact negatively on complementary or subsequent FV consumption. More low-calorie and low-fat products, and less high-calorie and high-fat products were purchased in a canteen following the introduction of ‘high-’ and ‘low-’ ‘calorie’ and ‘fat’ labels for products [4], and more products labelled ‘healthy’ and less products labelled ‘unhealthy’ were purchased in a cafeteria setting over 3 months [5], and over one and two years [6] This improved selection and purchasing can result in improved consumption at least to some degree [5, 6]. Adhering to a lowfat diet through the consumption of low-fat products may allow greater consumption of those products compared to regular products, greater consumption of complementary non-low-fat products, or greater subsequent consumption in general

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