Abstract
Background
Earlier research has identified consumer characteristics associated with viewing Nutrition
Facts labels; however, little is known about those who view front-of-package nutrition
labels. Front-of-package nutrition labels might appeal to more consumers than do Nutrition
Facts labels, but it might be necessary to provide consumers with information about
how to locate and use these labels.
Objective
This study quantifies Nutrition Facts and front-of-package nutrition label viewing
among American adult consumers.
Design
Attention to nutrition information was measured during a food-selection task.
Participants/setting
One hundred and twenty-three parents (mean age=38 years, mean body mass index [calculated
as kg/m2]=28) and one of their children (aged 6 to 9 years) selected six foods from a university
laboratory-turned-grocery aisle.
Intervention
Participants were randomized to conditions in which front-of-package nutrition labels
were present or absent, and signage explaining front-of-package nutrition labels was
present or absent.
Main outcome measures
Adults’ visual attention to Nutrition Facts labels and front-of-package nutrition
labels was objectively measured via eye-tracking glasses.
Statistical analyses performed
To examine whether there were significant differences in the percentages of participants
who viewed Nutrition Facts labels vs front-of-package nutrition labels, McNemar’s
tests were conducted across all participants, as well as within various sociodemographic
categories. To determine whether hypothesized factors, such as health literacy and
education, had stronger relationships with front-of-package nutrition label vs Nutrition
Facts label viewing, linear regression assessed the magnitude of relationships between
theoretically and empirically derived factors and each type of label viewing.
Results
Overall, front-of-package nutrition labels were more likely to be viewed than Nutrition
Facts labels; however, for all subgroups, higher rates of front-of-package nutrition
label viewership occurred only when signage was present drawing attention to the presence
and meaning of front-of-package nutrition labels.
Conclusions
Consumers should receive education about the availability and use of new nutrition
labels.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and DieteticsAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Prevalence of childhood and adult obesity in the United States, 2011-2012.J Am Med Assoc. 2014; 311: 806-814
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The health effects of overweight and obesity. http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/effects/index.html?s_cid=tw_ob245. Published 2013. Revised December 6, 2013. Accessed July 15, 2014.
- Use of the nutrition facts label in chronic disease management: Results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.J Am Diet Assoc. 2010; 110: 628-632
- Use of food nutrition labels is associated with lower fat intake.J Am Diet Assoc. 1999; 99: 45-53
- Who uses nutrition labeling, and what effects does label use have on diet quality?.J Nutr Educ. 1995; 27: 163-172
- Do nutrition labels improve dietary outcomes?.Health Econ. 2008; 17: 695-708
- Consumer understanding and use of nutrition labelling: A systematic review.Public Health Nutr. 2005; 8: 21-28
- Consumers' use of nutritional labels: A review of research studies and issues.Acad Market Sci Rev. 2006; 10
- Use of nutrition facts panels among adults who make household food purchasing decisions.J Nutr Educ Behav. 2006; 38: 360-364
- Food nutrition label use is associated with demographic, behavioral, and psychosocial factors and dietary intake among African Americans in North Carolina.J Am Diet Assoc. 2005; 105: 392-402
- The importance of population-wide sodium reduction as a means to prevent cardiovascular disease and stroke a call to action from the american heart association.Circulation. 2011; 123: 1138-1143
- US trends in prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension, 1988-2008.J Am Med Assoc. 2010; 303: 2043-2050
- Consumers’ ability to perform tasks using nutrition labels.J Nutr Educ. 1998; 30: 210-217
- Consumer preferences for front-of-pack calories labelling.Public Health Nutr. 2008; 11: 203-213
- A review of European research on consumer response to nutrition information on food labels.J Public Health. 2007; 15: 385-399
- The impact of variations in a fact-based front-of-package nutrition labeling system on consumer comprehension.J Acad Nutr Diet. 2014; 114 (e848): 843-854
- Nutrition knowledge, and use and understanding of nutrition information on food labels among consumers in the UK.Appetite. 2010; 55: 177-189
Let’s Move. Eat healthy: Empower consumers. http://www.letsmove.gov/. Published 2013. Accessed July 15, 2014.
US Food and Drug Administration. Front of package labeling initiative. http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/LabelingNutrition/ucm202726.htm. Published 2013. Revised May 17, 2013. Accessed July 15, 2014.
- Location, location, location: Eye-tracking evidence that consumers preferentially view prominently positioned nutrition information.J Am Diet Assoc. 2011; 111: 1704-1711
- Nutrition label use partially mediates the relationship between attitude toward healthy eating and overall dietary quality among college students.J Acad Nutr Diet. 2012; 112: 414-418
- Development of a color-coded bilingual food label for low-literacy Latino caretakers.J Nutr Educ. 2000; 32: 152-160
- Patient understanding of food labels: The role of literacy and numeracy.Am J Prev Med. 2006; 31: 391-398
- Eye tracking and nutrition label use: A review of the literature and recommendations for label enhancement.Food Policy. 2012; 37: 378-382
Grocery Manufacturers Association and Food Marketing Institute. Food and beverage industry launches Nutrition Keys front-of-pack nutrition labeling initiative to inform consumers and combat obesity. http://www.factsupfront.org/Newsroom. Published January 24, 2011. Accessed October 18, 2014.
- 2011 compendium of physical activities: A second update of codes and MET values.Med Sci Sport Exerc. 2011; 43: 1575-1581
- Quick assessment of literacy in primary care: The Newest Vital Sign.Ann Fam Med. 2005; 3: 514-522
- Impact of different food label formats on healthiness evaluation and food choice of consumers: A randomized-controlled study.BMC Public Health. 2009; 9: 184
- The science on front-of-package food labels.Public Health Nutr. 2013; 16: 430-439
- Perception of front-of-pack labels according to social characteristics, nutritional knowledge and food purchasing habits.Public Health Nutr. 2013; 16: 392-402
- Association of perception of front-of-pack labels with dietary, lifestyle and health characteristics.PLoS One. 2014; 9: e90971
- The efficacy of a daily self-weighing weight loss intervention using smart scales and e-mail.Obesity. 2013; 21: 1789-1797
- Self-weighing in weight gain prevention and weight loss trials.Ann Behav Med. 2005; 30: 210-216
- Self-weighing frequency is associated with weight gain prevention over 2 years among working adults.Int J Behav Med. 2012; 19: 351-358
- A randomised controlled trial of the effectiveness of self-weighing as a weight loss intervention.Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2014; 11: 1-9
- Consistent self-monitoring of weight: A key component of successful weight loss maintenance.Obesity. 2007; 15: 3091-3096
- A Theory of Objective Self Awareness.Academic Press, Oxford, UK1972
- Predictors of nutrition label viewing during food purchase decision making: An eye tracking investigation.Public Health Nutr. 2012; 15: 189-197
- Health motivation and product design determine consumers’ visual attention to nutrition information on food products.Public Health Nutr. 2010; 13: 1099-1106
- Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious.Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA2009
- Counter-advertising may reduce parent's susceptibility to front-of-package promotions on unhealthy foods.J Nutr Educ Behav. 2014; 46: 467-474
Biography
D. J. Graham is an assistant professor, Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins.
Biography
C. Heidrick is a graduate student, Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins.
Biography
K. Hodgin is a graduate student, Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 15, 2015
Accepted:
February 10,
2015
Received:
July 17,
2014
Footnotes
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT Funding for this work was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Healthy Eating Research program (HER Round 6 grant no. 69295).
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ScienceDirect
Access this article on ScienceDirectLinked Article
- ErratumJournal of the Academy of Nutrition and DieteticsVol. 115Issue 12
- PreviewThe Original Research article, “Nutrition Label Viewing during a Food-Selection Task: Front-of-Package Labels vs Nutrition Fact Labels,” by Graham and colleagues that appeared in the October 2015 issue of the Journal (pp 1636-1646) contains an error on page 1643. In Table 2, the last row of the “Characteristics” column is incorrectly labeled as “Physical activity ≥75 MET min/wki.” That row should be correctly labeled as “Physical activity <75 MET min/wki.”
- Full-Text
- Preview
