Influencing food selection with point-of-choice nutrition information

Abstract

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a point-of-choice nutrition information program that used a comprehensive set of communication functions in its design. Positive findings in other point-of-choice cafeteria studies relate to the provision of tangible incentives for behavior change. This study examined the effect of a nutrition education program that relied on intangible incentives. To provide sufficient incentive for behavior change we presented specific nutrient information on the food choices at each meal, suggestions for healthful food selection, and the long-term, presently intangible health benefits of such change. The study was designed to control for seasonal effects and for internal variables that typically threaten validity. We conducted the program in two dormitory cafeterias for an academic year. Students in one dormitory cafeteria were presented with a nutrition sign (providing general nutrition information and recommendations for changing food selections) and with nutrient display cards (indicating the number of calories, milligrams of cholesterol, and percentage of calories provided by fat in one serving of each targeted food). Students in a second dormitory cafeteria were presented with nutrient display cards only, after a baseline, no-intervention period. The results of a multiple-baseline experiment indicate that food-selection behavior was influenced in the first cafeteria but remained unchanged in the second location.