Abstract
Traditional strategies (such as education, economic incentives or prohibitions) targeted at altering dietary habits only influence health-conscious consumers. Less health-conscious consumers are less capable of self-regulatory behavior, therefore they are more likely to be influenced through perception. The present study aimed to examine how external cues such as labeling affect the consumer’s perception of foods. The paper includes a case study based on an experiment. In the experiment the same cheese was tested with four different types of labeling (labeled “conventional”, “low salt”, “low fat” and “low salt and low fat”). It was found that the health halo effect worked in the case of cheese testing. In spite of all the samples being identical, the healthy samples were associated with considerably less sensory pleasure. The use of labels by the producers resulted in exactly the opposite effect to that intended. The experiment confirmed the efficiency of the application of this type of behavior-oriented nudge.
Highlights
The past few decades have seen a dramatic increase in non-communicable diseases worldwide and the mortality rates related to them have been the highest for a long time [1]
There were common nodes for example “good” and “healthy” that could even be related to several cheese types, the edges converged in these cases
This finding was confirmed by the research we conducted; reduced salt and reduced fat labels created the impression of a “flavorless” product, and respondents in the study associated them with a lack of flavor
Summary
The past few decades have seen a dramatic increase in non-communicable diseases worldwide and the mortality rates related to them have been the highest for a long time [1]. In Europe alone, 11–26 million people suffer from food allergy or food intolerance; on a global scale the body mass of 1.9 billion people exceeds the normal index, 650 million of whom are obese, while 2 billion people lack vitamins and minerals in their daily diet. The situation is no better among school age children: it is estimated that million children will be overweight by 2025, with 91 million of them being obese. Research in this field soon revealed that it is primarily the changes in the way of life of humankind that are to blame for the spread of non-communicable diseases [2]. All the findings shown above indicate that nutrition and diet play a significant role in preserving excellent health, the role of other factors, such as regular physical activity, healthy ageing, the cleanliness of the environment, a balanced lifestyle, the comprehensive role of culture and tradition are crucial [2]
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