Consumer perceptions of health-related claims with broad conceptual or direct benefit expressions

Abstract

Health-related claims should be formulated based on scientific evidence. This study clarified the differences in consumer perceptions between broad conceptual (format A) or direct benefit expression (format B) in health-related claim categories: 1) intestinal environment regulation, 2) body fat reduction, and 3) blood pressure regulation. A randomized controlled study was conducted with 800 consumers assigned to formats A and B. The main outcome was the difference in consumer perceptions between the two formats on a scale from 1 (lower) to 5 (higher). There were significant differences between formats A and B: 3.23 and 3.09 in category 1 (p =.005), and 3.26 and 3.14 in category 2 (p =.013). There was no relationship between medical use and direct benefit expression in health-related claims. This study reveals that awareness of the real benefits associated with health-related claims based on scientific data, may be needed to reduce consumers being misled by expecting excessive benefits.