Abstract
Research indicates that high sugar intake in early childhood may increase risks of tooth decay, obesity and chronic disease later in life. In this sugar fact study, we explored whether an online intervention which focused on comprehensive and useful information about nutrition labels impacted mother’s choice of low sugar food. The intervention was developed on the basis of the theory of planned behavior. In total, 122 mothers were recruited. Mothers were divided into an online-only group and a plus group. Knowledge of sugar and nutrition labels, behavioral attitudes, perceived behavioral control, behavioral intentions and behavior towards purchasing low-sugar products with nutrition labels were collected. After the intervention, both groups exhibited significantly enhanced sugar and nutrition label knowledge, perceived behavioral control, behavioral intentions and behavior. Compared to the online-only group, knowledge, perceived behavioral control and behavior of the plus group significantly improved. After the intervention, about 40% of the plus group and 80% of the online-only group still did not know the World Health Organization (WHO) sugar recommendations. Understanding sugar recommendations and using nutrition labels are crucial to help people control calorie and sugar intake. Further research with a larger sample is warranted to evaluate the effects of the intervention on long-term changes in shopping behavior. More efficient and convenient nutrition education is required to increase public awareness of sugar recommendations and help people control calorie and sugar intake.
Highlights
Being overweight and obese increases the risks of many health problems, including diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers [1,2,3]
This study revealed that compared to the online-only group, the plus group consciously enhanced their perceived behavioral control and frequency of using nutrition labels to buy low-sugar food products after participating in the intervention program
Results of the present study revealed that after the educational intervention was administered, mothers in both groups had a significantly improved ability to consciously shop for low-sugar foods using nutrition labels
Summary
Being overweight and obese increases the risks of many health problems, including diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers [1,2,3]. A long-term follow-up study in Taiwan found that approximately 90% of young children consume sugary drinks and snacks once per day, and one-third of 5 year-old children more than 10% of their caloric intake from refined sugar [5]. A survey in Taiwan found that more than 90% of popular snacks and drinks with no-added-sugar claims consumed by children were high in sugar [13]. A study in Australia and New Zealand found that 28% of consumers misunderstood the meaning of the claim of “no added sugar”, believing that products with such a claim contained no sugar [14]. 95.7% of mothers know that excessive sugar intake increases future health risks in children, but only
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