Nutrition Label Use Research Articles

Nutrition labels and claims in New Zealand and Australia: a review of use and understanding

To determine how well consumers use and understand nutrition labels and claims in New Zealand and Australia. A review was undertaken of the literature on nutrition labelling in New Zealand and Australia published up to the end of July 2005. Major electronic databases were searched for appropriate literature and research, as were the bibliographies of relevant publications and pertinent websites. Studies that focused on health claims were excluded. Sixteen papers were suitable for inclusion in the review. All but one study evaluated self-reported use and understanding of nutrition labels. The single study that evaluated actual (observed) use of labels while shopping found frequency to be much lower than would be expected based on self-reported data. While self-reported understanding of nutrition labels was common, actual (evaluated) understanding appeared moderate at best. Self-reported use of nutrition labels and claims is common in New Zealand and Australia, but actual use and understanding appears limited. Nutrition labels present an opportunity to improve consumer food choice at point of purchase, but their potential value is limited by apparent lack of consumer understanding. Nutrition labels are an important part of a supportive environment that empowers people to make healthy food choices. Improving their ease of use and understanding has the potential to promote healthier food choices.

Determinants of Nutrition Label Use Among College Students

The purpose of this research was to assess the frequency of nutrition label use among college students and its relationship to nutrition and label knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding diet-disease relationships, and to determine factors predictive of frequent or infrequent label use. This study utilized a cross-sectional design. Volunteer participants included a convenience sample of 1,294 students from a large university in Texas. A 57-item survey instrument was used to assess nutrition label knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs about diet-disease relationships. Open-ended items were included to capture reasons for frequent/infrequent label use. Statistical analyses included frequency distributions, Pearson's correlations, independent sample t-tests, and binary logistic regression. Label users had greater knowledge, more favorable attitudes, and more accurate perceptions of diet-disease relationships than nonusers. Females exhibited greater knowledge, more favorable attitudes, and more frequent label use than males. Health reasons, looking for specific information, weight control, and knowledge predicted frequent label use. Desire for certain foods, time constraints, and “don't care” attitudes predicted infrequent use. These predictors of frequent/infrequent use suggest important points of intervention for increasing label use among selected groups of college students.

The Effect of Single Serving Versus Entire Package Nutritional Information on Consumption Norms and Actual Consumption of a Snack Food

Objective Increasing serving sizes have been identified as contributors to the obesity epidemic. Researchers suggest that consumers are in need of cues that provide norms for the appropriate amount of food to consume. The impact of one potential cue, the provision of nutritional information for a single serving as well as the entire package (“dual-column labels”) versus single-serving nutritional information only (“single-column labels”), was investigated on the consumption of a snack food for dieters and nondieters. Design In a between-subjects experimental design, participants were provided with a snack food product and nutrition label. After the opportunity for consumption, they were provided with a survey instrument. Setting The study took place in a classroom setting. Participants Undergraduate students were randomly assigned to the single-column versus dual-column label treatment groups and were classified as dieters (n=45) or nondieters (n=67) based on self-reported dieting behavior. Intervention Participants were exposed to either a single-column or dual-column nutrition label. Main Outcome Measures Perceptions of consumption norms; use, importance, and understanding of nutrition labels; and the actual amount consumed by each individual were measured. Analysis Analysis of variance was used to analyze data from the study. Results Nondieting participants, but not dieting participants, ate significantly less when exposed to the dual-column label compared to the single-column label ( P<.05). Although there was a significant difference in the amount consumed by dieters and nondieters in the case of the single-column label ( P<.05), the presence of a dual-column label attenuated this effect. In addition, dieters reported paying greater attention to ( P<.01), better perceived the necessity of ( P<.01), and had better understanding of ( P<.05) label information than nondieters. In addition, dieters considered the provided serving to be more adequate than nondieters ( P<.05). Implications for Research and Practice Compared to standard, single-column labels, dual-column nutritional labels have a greater impact on the snack food consumption of nondieters.

Do consumers perceive benefits from the implementation of a EU mandatory nutritional labelling program?

This paper examines consumers’ knowledge about nutritional labels (i.e., nutritional panel), use of nutritional labels, and perceived benefits from a mandatory nutritional labeling program. Using data from a pilot study conducted in a Spanish city and a three-equation multivariate probit model, our results suggest that individuals who suffer some health problems related to food intake are more knowledgeable about nutritional labels. Further, those who are more knowledgeable about nutritional labels are more likely to use nutritional labels, and nutritional label users are more likely to consider mandatory nutritional labeling as beneficial. Perceived usefulness of the information provided by nutritional labels as well as the amount of presented information affect consumer perceptions about whether or not mandatory nutritional labeling would be beneficial.

French consumers' use of nutrition labels

Purpose – To survey consumers living in Paris, France, to determine the extent to which they use nutrition labels, and to determine the percentage of French consumers who use nutrition labels, how often they use nutrition labels, and how they would like to see current nutrition labels improved. The researchers also wanted to determine the reasons why consumers do not use nutrition labels, and to try and assess users' and non‐users' perceptions about mandatory nutrition labelling.Design/methodology/approach – French consumers (n = 355) were surveyed in supermarkets in Paris and its suburbs, using a 21‐item questionnaire in May 2004. Interviewers used questionnaires to assess the frequency of respondents' nutrition label use, to investigate the specific nutrient information most commonly consulted on nutrition labels, the types of products on which consumers most often tend to consult nutrition labels, and to collect demographic information.Findings – Only 45.1 per cent of the sample reported reading nutr...

栄養表示利用行動と食生活および健康との関連との関連に関する研究―男子大学生についての検討―

The number of utilized nutrient-kinds (UNs) as an index that consumers understand and actually utilize is investigated, and the objectives are set to clarify the relationship among the number of UNs, dietary habits and health. The hypotheses that utilizing a higher number of UNs is related to better dietary habits and health, and that an appropriate number of UNs is related to the optimum dietary habits and health are tested. A questionnaire survey was conducted in November 2003 on male university students in Shiga Prefecture, Japan, the responses of 278 of these students being suitable for analysis. The results show that the higher the number of UNs, the better was the use of nutrition labeling in respect of the level of knowledge and attitude toward dietary habits. It was also clarified that increasing the number of UNs led to enhanced levels of behavior, condition and food consumption, as well as knowledge and attitude. In other words, the higher the number of UNs, the better the dietary habits and health. It is therefore suggested that the number of UNs would be useful as an index to reveal the qualitative aspects of nutrition labeling use.

Use of nutrition labels by community residents

Use of nutrition labels by community residents

Nutrition Information at Point of Selection Could Benefit College Students

The study examined the use of nutrition information at point of selection by first-year college students. Objectives were to determine whether freshmen were aware of the labels and used the information to influence their food choices. Nutrition label use by gender and how food choices were affected by nutrition information also were investigated. A Web-based survey was used for data collection. Results showed that females reported a significantly greater tendency than males to use labels to make food choices, and labels made a difference in their decision to eat at the dining commons rather than other foodservice establishments. Females sought foods to promote weight loss by selecting menu items with lower total calories and total fat. Males were more likely to want to gain weight and selected foods with high levels of protein and general overall balance of nutrients. Study findings reinforce the policy of posting nutrition information at point of selection and also present potential strategies for nutrition education to college students.

Food nutrition label use is associated with demographic, behavioral, and psychosocial factors and dietary intake among African Americans in North Carolina

Objective Reading nutrition labels on food packages may improve food choices and enable healthful dietary practices. This report describes the prevalence of nutrition label use and its association with demographic, behavioral, and psychological factors and diet among African-American adults. Design/subjects Self-reported data from a population-based cross-sectional survey of 658 African Americans, aged 20 to 70 years, in North Carolina. An 11-page questionnaire assessed nutrition label use, fruit and vegetable consumption, total and saturated fat intakes, fat-related dietary behaviors, diet-related psychosocial factors, and demographic and behavioral characteristics. Statistical analysis χ 2 tests and logistic regression analyses examined associations of demographic, psychosocial, and behavioral factors with nutrition label use. Linear regression was used to estimate the variation in diet explained by label use. Results The mean age of participants was 43.9±11.6 years, 41% were men, 37% were college graduates, and 75% were overweight/obese. Seventy-eight percent of respondents read nutrition labels when they purchased packaged foods. Nutrition label use was significantly higher among participants who were women, older, educated beyond high school, and obese ( P<.05). After adjusting for demographic characteristics, the strongest psychosocial predictors of nutrition label use were healthful eating self-efficacy, strong belief in a diet-cancer relationship, and trying to lose weight. Usual/often label users had higher fruit and vegetable consumption and lower fat intakes ( P<.001), and nutrition labels explained 2% to 17% of the variance in dietary intake. Conclusions Nutrition information on packaged foods appears to be a useful way to conduct point-of-purchase nutrition education among African Americans in North Carolina. Most respondents used food labels at least sometimes, but only about half usually or often did so. Efforts should be made to determine how all consumers could use nutrition labels effectively.

Nutrition knowledge and consumer use of nutritional food labels

Factors affecting nutritional food label use in Greece are examined using primary data collected from personal interviews with consumers shopping at supermarkets in Athens. The econometric approach treats nutrition knowledge, where appropriate, as an endogenous variable when estimating the models for general label use, degree of general label use and use of information on nutrient content. The results suggest that nutrition knowledge has a strong effect on general label use, degree of use, and on use of nutrient content concerning fat, ingredients and vitamins/minerals, thus confirming the hypothesised link between consumers' nutrition knowledge and behaviour. Socio-demographic effects are also evident in all models. Copyright 2005, Oxford University Press.

Consumer understanding and use of nutrition labelling: a systematic review

To explore published and unpublished research into consumer understanding and use of nutrition labelling which is culturally applicable in Europe. A systematic review undertaken between July 2002 and February 2003. One hundred and three papers were identified that reported on consumer understanding or use of nutrition labelling, most originating from North America or northern Europe. Only a few studies (9%) were judged to be of high or medium-high quality. We found that reported use of nutrition labels is high but more objective measures suggest that actual use of nutrition labelling during food purchase may be much lower. Whether or not consumers can understand and use nutrition labelling depends on the purpose of the task. Available evidence suggests that consumers who do look at nutrition labels can understand some of the terms used but are confused by other types of information. Most appear able to retrieve simple information and make simple calculations and comparisons between products using numerical information, but their ability to interpret the nutrition label accurately reduces as the complexity of the task increases. The addition of interpretational aids like verbal descriptors and recommended reference values helps in product comparison and in putting products into a total diet context. Improvements in nutrition labelling could make a small but important contribution towards making the existing point-of-purchase environment more conducive to the selection of healthy choices. In particular, interpretational aids can help consumers assess the nutrient contribution of specific foods to the overall diet.

Consumer understanding and use of nutrition labelling: a systematic review

AbstractObjective:To explore published and unpublished research into consumer understanding and use of nutrition labelling which is culturally applicable in Europe.Design:A systematic review undertaken between July 2002 and February 2003.Results:One hundred and three papers were identified that reported on consumer understanding or use of nutrition labelling, most originating from North America or northern Europe. Only a few studies (9%) were judged to be of high or medium–high quality. We found that reported use of nutrition labels is high but more objective measures suggest that actual use of nutrition labelling during food purchase may be much lower. Whether or not consumers can understand and use nutrition labelling depends on the purpose of the task. Available evidence suggests that consumers who do look at nutrition labels can understand some of the terms used but are confused by other types of information. Most appear able to retrieve simple information and make simple calculations and comparisons between products using numerical information, but their ability to interpret the nutrition label accurately reduces as the complexity of the task increases. The addition of interpretational aids like verbal descriptors and recommended reference values helps in product comparison and in putting products into a total diet context.Conclusions:Improvements in nutrition labelling could make a small but important contribution towards making the existing point-of-purchase environment more conducive to the selection of healthy choices. In particular, interpretational aids can help consumers assess the nutrient contribution of specific foods to the overall diet.

Patients' understanding and use of snack food package nutrition labels.

Little information exists on how patients in medical practice use food package nutrition labels. We theorized that patients in a general medical practice might not make the distinction between serving size and total package nutrition information, and this might lead to obesity. Ninety patients between ages of 18 and 65 attending the St. Francis/University of Tennessee Family Practice Center were interviewed to determine whether they could calculate the total calories in sample snack food packages that contained more than one serving. Ninety percent of our patient sample correctly identified the number of calories per individual serving, but only 37% were able to recognize that the sample packages contained multiple servings. Confusion between calories per serving size and total calories per package was correlated with lower educational levels (P =.011) and with the presence of cardiovascular heart disease in our patient sample. Our patients tended to think of a multiple serving package as one serving. They underestimated and under-reported caloric intake from snack food sources. We conclude that snack food labels as actually used by patients do not lead to informed dietary choices. These findings could impact our understanding and management of the obesity epidemic in the United States.

The origin of Guideline Daily Amounts and the Food Standards Agency's guidance on what counts as 'a lot' and 'a little'.

This paper provides the rationale for the Guideline Daily Amounts (GDAs) for fat, saturated fat and other nutrients that appear on food labels in the UK. These GDAs are provided voluntarily by manufacturers and retailers and were developed to help people make better use of nutrition labelling--the format of which is prescribed by the European Union's nutrition labelling directive. The paper also describes the basis to some Rules of Thumb for what counts as 'a lot' or 'a little' of fat, saturated fat and other nutrients, in an individual food. The paper gives the background to, and purpose of, the GDAs and Rules of Thumb and explains how they were calculated. It briefly describes their subsequent usage by food producers and others. Both GDAs and the Rules of Thumb first appeared in a leaflet developed by the authors and published in 1996 by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. GDAs for fat, saturated fat and energy were adopted subsequently by the Institute of Grocery Distribution and then by many retailers and some manufacturers. The Rules of Thumb for fat, saturated fat, sugar and sodium have recently been republished in some leaflets published by the Food Standards Agency in the UK. GDAs and Rules of Thumb may provide useful ways of helping consumers make sense of nutrition labelling. The current GDAs and the Rules of Thumb could usefully be updated in the light of recent developments.

Effectiveness of tailored and non‐tailored educational materials to promote nutrition label reading

A randomized field trial compared the effectiveness of three types of printed educational materials designed to increase nutrition label reading. Adult primary care patients (n=915) from four health centers in Missouri were recruited from the lobby while waiting to see a doctor. Participants completed a baseline assessment and were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups or to a control group. A three‐month follow‐up questionnaire was mailed to participants’ homes. Printed materials were either tailored and personalized, general and personalized, or general and non‐personalized. Main outcome measures were patients’ recall and ratings of the nutrition education materials, and self‐reported use of nutrition labels. Chi‐square analyses compared rates of recall and ratings of the materials across the four study groups. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify group differences on each outcome. Results and conclusions are discussed.

How do consumers use nutrition label information?

Previous studies have shown high levels of self‐reported nutrition label use, yet when tested consumers have difficulty in using label information effectively. Using verbal protocol analysis, this study explored nutrition label use directly, identifying the tasks consumers actually undertake, and how these are used to inform choice. The implications of the findings for labelling policy and nutrition education are discussed.

Health Knowledge and Consumer Use of Nutritional Labels: The Issue Revisited

The role of health knowledge in consumer use of nutritional labels on food packages is explored using data from the 1995 Diet and Health Knowledge Survey. Two types of label use models, a binary choice label use model and a level of label use model, are employed with particular attention given to the endogeneity of health knowledge. The binary choice model is concerned with factors affecting the probability of label use. The level of label use model deals with factors affecting the number of food products in which label use occurred. The results show that health knowledge has a significant role in increasing label use.

Consumer choice of food products and the implications for price competition and government policy

In this paper we develop a random coefficients discrete choice model to investigate what affected consumer demand for prepared frozen meals from 1993 to 1998, when government regulation of nutrition labeling changed from voluntary to mandatory. The model links individual consumer characteristics (e.g., income, knowledge about nutrition, nutrition label use) to underlying product characteristics (e.g., price, nutritional attributes) and allows us to obtain preference parameters for each consumer as well as demand elasticities with regard to product characteristics for each product considered. We find that prices, advertising, price reductions, and consumer preferences for taste have a significant effect on the demand for prepared frozen meals whereas concerns and knowledge about nutrition and health do not. Using the estimated demand parameters we then evaluate price competition in the industry and the impact of the new mandatory labeling policy. The results show that collusive pricing behavior by manufacturers is not supported by our data and that the 30% margins in the industry are due to the exercise of unilateral market power and differentiation strategies. The results also show that consumer preferences and purchasing patterns within prepared frozen meals category did not change significantly after the implementation of mandatory nutrition labeling. [EconLit codes: Q130, L110, L150]. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Nutrition Knowledge, Gender, and Food Label Use

This paper empirically explores the relationship between nutrition knowledge, gender, and food label use. The econometric approach treats both nutrition knowledge and label use as endogenous variables when estimating the model for food label use. The results suggest that nutrition knowledge does not have an effect on label use, confirming the weak link hypothesis between knowledge and behavior. Gender effect is mainly due to differences in nutrition knowledge levels.

The Influence of Consumer Demographic Characteristics on Nutritional Label Usage

The majority of consumers report making frequent use of nutritional labeling when purchasing food products. However, certain segments appear to place a greater emphasis on food product labels than others. This study empirically evaluates which demographic characteristics encourage consumers to be more likely to take nutritional labels into account when purchasing grocery products. The results indicate that females, older individuals, and those living in suburban and rural areas are the most likely to make use of nutritional labels. The results also indicate that larger households were less likely to use nutritional labeling.