Association between the awareness of Nutrition Facts Panel and prepackaged food purchase behavior among residents

Abstract

Objective: To explore the association between the cognition of Nutrition Facts Panel and prepackaged food purchase behavior among residents in six provinces in China. Methods: Using a multi-stage sampling method, 3 002 adults aged 18-70 were selected from the western region (Sichuan), eastern region (Guangdong, Jiangsu, Beijing), central region (Henan), and northeastern region (Heilongjiang) of China from July 2020 to March 2021. Socio-demographic characteristics of participants and their cognition of Nutrition Facts Panel and prepackaged food purchase behavior were collected through questionnaire. A multivariate binary logistic regression model was used to analyze the association between cognition of Nutrition Facts Panel and prepackaged food purchase behavior. Results: The age of 3 002 subjects was (42.3±13.4) years, among which 63.8% (1 914) were female, 66.7% knew the Nutrition Facts Panel, 49.8% would read it when purchasing, 30.7% could understand it, and 56.6% (1 699) bought prepackaged food more than once a week. The results of multivariate analysis showed that after adjusting for relevant confounding factors, compared with the participants knowing but not reading the Nutrition Facts Panel, the group knowing and reading was more likely to buy 11 types of prepackaged food at least once a week (all P<0.05). Compared with the participants reading but not understanding the Nutrition Facts Panel, the group reading and understanding was less likely to buy 11 types of prepackaged food at least once a week (all P<0.05). Conclusion: There was a correlation between cognition of Nutrition Facts Panel and prepackaged food purchase behavior among residents.