An experimental food label applied to food served at a school (aged 11–18 years) in Greater London and its influence on adolescent food choices

Abstract

Adolescent obesity is more prevalent in the United Kingdom (UK) than in almost any other higher income nation. Providing nutritional information in the form of a food label is one strategy that has the potential to reduce obesity because it offers informed choices. School food can theoretically provide a third of an adolescent's daily calorie intake, yet food served in schools in England has no labelling to guide pupils to the healthiest food choices on offer.This is a pragmatic study, which designed and applied an experimental food label in the form of a nutritional ‘food score’ to the food on offer to pupils aged 11–18 years in a school in Greater London. Quantitative survey data was collected at three time points for a total of nine weeks to explore if the food label influenced adolescents to select healthier food options in real time data. In addition, data from a food choice questionnaire identified which factors adolescents ranked as having the greatest influence on their food choice behaviour.The results indicated that with the application of the experimental food label there was no significant change in actual food selected. The factors that adolescents ranked the highest in terms of influencing their food choices were taste, hunger, price, health, appearance, smell, and food that keeps them awake. The factor that adolescents unanimously ranked as not affecting their food choices was the influence of friends.