Label reading, numeracy and food & nutrition involvement

Visualization of health information within immersive virtual reality environments

The Advanced Visualization Branch of the National Institute of Nursing Research uses computer technologies to study information visualization in support of self-care management. Advanced technologies, such as immersive virtual reality (IVR), afford researchers the opportunity to study health information visualization where user-initiated information search in visually dense settings precedes acquisition, interpretation, and use. While IVR has broad applicability in healthcare, we chose to target lay people managing chronic disease because of the growing unmet need to translate clinical recommendations into everyday behaviors. To explore how lay people seek, acquire, and interpret health information in everyday settings, we developed an IVR grocery store. In this environment, a person can locate food products, read and compare nutrition labels, and use information to make food selections. The goal of this perspective is to introduce the opportunities afforded by IVR to both present and study health information visualization and to highlight critical design considerations.

"I use salt. However, I also use soy sauce, oyster sauce, sometimes chili sauce and….": interviews with Australians of Chinese ancestry regarding reducing salt consumption for hypertension prevention

BACKGROUND

High dietary salt consumption is a significant health issue in Chinese populations. This study identified the facilitators for and barriers to salt reduction for prevention of hypertension among Chinese Australians.

METHODS

An inductive qualitative study with semi-structured interviews (n = 8) was conducted with convenience samples recruited from social media. Adults who a) were over 18 years old, b) were of Chinese ancestry and c) had lived in Australia for at least 6 months were eligible for participation. Interview transcripts were transcribed and analysed using content analysis.

RESULTS

Four facilitators for and eight barriers to reducing salt consumption were synthesised from the narrative materials. The facilitators were: 1) individual perceptions of health benefits, 2) salt alternatives, 3) digital information and 4) increased awareness of negative health impacts from a high-salt diet. The barriers identified were: 1) negative physical changes not apparent, 2) inadequate salt-related health education, 3) hidden salt in food products, 4) inadequate food literacy, 5) pricing, 6) busy lifestyle, 7) low perceived susceptibility and 8) individual food taste preference and cooking habits. Peer and family influence had positive and negative effects on participants' likelihood of reducing salt consumption.

CONCLUSIONS

The facilitators for and barriers to maintaining a low-salt diet in Chinese Australians were multifaceted and interrelated. Future salt-reduction strategies should focus on the health benefits of reduced salt consumption and practical interventions such as salt alternatives and education on low-salt food choices and cooking methods and changing perceptions about salt reduction to become a social norm in the Chinese community.

The Impact of Interpretive Packaged Food Labels on Consumer Purchase Intention: The Comparative Analysis of Efficacy and Inefficiency of Food Labels

The objectives of this study are twofold. Firstly, the current study elucidates the impact and efficacy of food labels in developing consumers' attitudes and intentions towards the selection of nutritional food. Secondly, the inefficacy of labels in developing consumers' attitudes and intentions towards healthy packaged food selection is demonstrated. The supportive theories of the current model are those of reasoned action and protection motivation. The data of 797 respondents have been collected from four major grocery stores in Pakistan. The structural equation model has been employed for the analysis of data. The results indicate that the efficacy of food labels has a positive significant effect on attitudes towards familiar and unfamiliar foods. In contrast to this, inefficacy in labelling has shown a positive significant effect on familiar foods but is insignificant for unfamiliar foods. The user-friendly food labels significantly affect unfamiliar foods in terms promoting consumer attitudes. Reciprocally, the inefficacy of labels creates a hindrance to the reading of unfamiliar labels while purchasing food items. The study findings reveal the fact that food label information and its format influences consumer attitudes and intentions at the point of purchase.

Consumer Attitudes towards Food Preservation Methods

The development and scope of using various food preservation methods depends on the level of consumers’ acceptance. Despite their advantages, in the case of negative attitudes, producers may limit their use if it determines the level of sales. The aim of this study was to evaluate the perception of seven different food processing methods and to identify influencing factors, such as education as well as living area and, at the same time, to consider whether consumers verify this type of information on the labels. Additionally, the study included the possibility of influencing consumer attitudes by using alternative names for preservation methods, on the example of microwave treatment. The results showed that conventional heat treatments were the most preferred preservation methods, whereas preservatives, irradiation, radio waves and microwaves were the least favored, suggesting that consumers dislike methods connected with “waves” to a similar extent as their dislike for preservatives. The control factors proved to significantly modify the evaluation of the methods. The analysis of alternative names for microwave treatment showed that “dielectric heating” was significantly better perceived. These research findings are important as the basis for understanding consumer attitudes. Implications for business and directions of future research are also indicated.

Analysis of Factors Influencing Food Nutritional Labels Use in Nanjing, China

A correct use of food nutrition la bels benefits consumers in pursuing balanced diets. As a result, we conducted interviews in Nanjing, China and randomly sampled 427 respondents. Further, we used both descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression to assess their perception of food nutrition label use. The results indicated that the current situation is not ideal in Nanjing. Only 7.26% of respondents use labeling consistently. Data on purchasing experience, comprehension, nutritional value, work sector, chronic disease, diet awareness, nutritional knowledge, and age were statistically significant. Conversely, taste and primary shopper categories negatively influenced food nutrition label use. In light of the above results, we propose policy recommendations to promote consumers' use of food nutrition labels. These are also beneficial in improving diet and relieving chronic diseases.

Who Reads Food Labels? Selected Predictors of Consumer Interest in Front-of-Package and Back-of-Package Labels during and after the Purchase

The paper aims to identify selected predictors of food label use to extend our knowledge about consumer behavior related to food purchases. Two types of information were examined: front-of-package (FOP) and back-of-package (BOP), and two contexts of reading labels were distinguished: during shopping and at home. Various types of potential predictors were tested, including demographic (e.g., age, gender, household size, place of living), socioeconomic (e.g., education, professional activity, income), behavioral (e.g., purchasing certain types of products), and psychographic (e.g., importance attached to various types of information) criteria. The survey was conducted with the use of the CAWI (Computer-Assisted Web Interviews) methodology in a sample of 1051 Polish consumers. Quota sampling was applied based on sex, age, education, place of living (urban vs. rural), and region. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVAs, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple and retrograde step regressions were applied. In retrograde step regression models, only one predictor (self-rated knowledge about nutrition healthiness) turned out to be significant for all four measures of label reading. The remaining predictors were specific to selected measures of reading labels. The importance of the information about the content of fat and that about the health effects of consuming a food product were significant predictors of three types of food label use. This study confirms the necessity to investigate reading labels in fine-grained models, adapted to different types of labels and different contexts of reading. Our results show that demographic or socioeconomic variables are not significant predictors of reading food labels for a large group of Polish consumers.

Revisiting nutrition backlash: Psychometric properties and discriminant validity of the nutrition backlash scale

OBJECTIVES

Nutrition backlash is a disposition defined by negative feelings about dietary recommendations. Past research has measured nutrition backlash using the nutrition backlash scale (NBS) and found that it is negatively related to the consumption of fruits and vegetables. The aim of this study was to examine several aspects of the NBS, including factor structure, discriminant validity, and relationship to demographic characteristics and health behaviors.

METHODS

Adults were recruited to participate in two studies. Study 1 (N = 480) included measures of nutritional backlash, information overload, worry, fatalism, and nutrition-related behaviors. Study 2 (N = 399) was a follow-up that examined the factor structure of the NBS in a separate sample.

RESULTS

In study 1, a six-item version of the NBS was found to be a good fit for the data and discriminant from overload, worry, and fatalism. NBS was higher for those with less education, non-white participants, and men. Individuals with higher backlash were less likely to look at nutritional labels and to use sunscreen. Study 2 confirmed the factor structure from study 1.

CONCLUSIONS

A six-item version of the NBS was found to be reliable, discriminant from related measures, higher in underserved groups (less-educated, non-white, and male participants), and related to nutrition label use.

The impact of calorie and physical activity labelling on consumer's emo-sensory perceptions and food choices

Providing labelling information is one of the strategies used to help consumers make healthier choices. However, although the type of information has the potential to assist consumers, it is important to evaluate their sensory and emotional perceptions. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different labelling information on consumers' sensory and emotional perceptions and their choices, for three different products (potato chips, juice and yogurt). A total of 480 participants were randomly assigned to one of four information conditions (no information (blind), kilocalorie (kcal) information, physical activity (PA) information [duration of walking required to burn the kcal in the product], kcal + PA information). For each information condition, participants were provided with higher kcal and lower kcal equivalent food pairs and were required to choose one. The participants evaluated their overall liking using a 9-point hedonic scale and answered rate-all-that-apply (RATA) questions related to the sensory and emotional characteristics of the products. The results showed no significant impact of calorie and physical activity labelling on consumers' overall liking for juice and yogurt samples and no impact of PA information for chips. Significant differences in overall liking were found when comparing the blind condition with kcal and kcal + PA information, with lower acceptance of the chips samples when this information was presented. Although providing calorie and physical activity labelling had little impact on consumers' sensory and emotional perceptions, consumers perceived unhealthy attributes and negative emotions, such as fatty and guilty, when information was presented. The present work suggests that, although nutrition labelling may be presented as an important strategy to assist consumers, it is important to evaluate consumers' lifestyles, considering that non-dieters and those low and moderate in dietary restraint may not be impacted by this information.

The Effect of Consumer Involvement in Light Lamb Meat on Behavior, Sensory Perception, and Health-Related Concerns

Involvement can explain behavioral consequences, such as consumer decision-making and consumption. The first aim of this study is to identify the profiles of consumers based on their involvement in light lamb meat. The second aim is to study the influence of involvement on consumers' attitudes, behaviors, beliefs, preferences, quality cues, and sensory perception regarding light lamb meat. Two consumer profiles are identified. The first cluster includes consumers who enjoyed eating light lamb meat, were conscious of their self-image, and perceived the consequences of poor choices; these consumers also perceived the probability of making an incorrect choice as high. The second cluster includes consumers who truly loved eating lamb meat, were also conscious of their self-image, and perceived the consequences of poor choices; however, these consumers were confident in not making incorrect choices. Although both involvement-based profiles showed high involvement in light lamb meat, it can be concluded that the second cluster had a higher involvement. In general, the involvement-based profiles did not influence health-related attitudes, preferences, or sensory perceptions of light lamb meat, while beliefs, behavior and quality cues were influenced by involvement.

Antecedents of Trust in Organic Foods: The Mediating Role of Food Related Personality Traits

The current study focuses on identifying the factors responsible for building trust in organic foods. This study also attempted to establish the mediating role of food-related personality traits in building such trust. The quantitative data was collected from the Liaoning province of China through a structured questionnaire (n = 420). Established scales were adopted for measuring constructs. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses. The results indicated that consumer trust towards retailers was found to be highly significant in creating trust of customers regarding organic food products, followed by information on the label. The trust of consumers towards food manufacturer was also found to be a significant predictor, while the perceived knowledge of customers about organic food products was found to be a weak contributor towards building trust. Furthermore, food-related personality traits were found to mediate the hypothesized model. This study extends the literature on trust in organic food consumption by intending to provide a detailed analysis of the factors that build trust in organic food consumption in China. The findings of this study will help producers, retailers, and marketers to identify the appropriate strategies to establish and improve the consumer trust in organic food.