The impact of sugar-related claims on perceived healthfulness, caloric value and expected taste of food products

How Sugar Labeling Affects Consumer Sugar Reduction: A Case of Sucrose Grade Labels in China

The effectiveness of sugar labeling depends not only on direct sugar reduction but also on the extent to which compensatory eating occurs. This study focuses on the use of sucrose grade labels in the Chinese market to investigate not only consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for different sucrose labels but also the consistency of their sugar control behavior when confronted with unlabeled processed foods. The findings reveal that consumers are willing to pay approximately 4%, 7%, and 7% more for yogurt labeled as "low sucrose", "no sucrose", and "no sucrose with sugar substitutes", respectively, compared to yogurt labeled as "regular sucrose." Furthermore, when subsequently presented with unlabeled toast, a significant proportion of consumers who initially chose "no sucrose" yogurt continued to select wholewheat toast, which contains less sugar than white and coconut toast. This indicates their commitment to maintaining their sugar control behavior. The study provides valuable experimental evidence for researchers, food manufacturers, and policymakers regarding the efficacy of sucrose grade labels. In particular, it offers policymakers insights into guiding consumers to promote sustainable healthy diets.

Cookie cravings - Examining the impact of sugar content information on Christmas treat preferences via mobile eye-tracking

BACKGROUND

Diets high in added sugar can promote the development of overweight. Especially during the Holiday season, when high-sugar food is abundant, people overeat and gain more weight than during other times of the year. The present study with mobile eye-tracking glasses (Pupil Labs Invisible) investigated how sugar content information affects food preference (liking/wanting) and visual attention (where and how long one is looking) in a buffet-like situation.

METHODS

Fifty-eight participants who were well acquainted with the local Christmas traditions and foods (38 female, 19 male, one diverse; mean age = 25 years, SD = 6.3 years; mean body mass index = 22.2 kg/m2, SD = 3.2 kg/m2) were presented with four cookies and two non-food items (wrapped presents) in a free viewing task. Two of the displayed cookies were 'Christmas cookies' (cookies that are traditionally eaten only during the Holiday season) and two cookies had no Christmas association. The cookies were either labeled as cookies made with or without sugar, resulting in a 3 (Category: cookies with sugar, cookies without sugar, non-food) by 2 (Christmas association: yes, no) repeated-measures design.

RESULTS

Analyses of variance indicated that participants reported higher wanting and liking for cookies with sugar, particularly Christmas cookies (interaction effect for wanting: p = .047, ηp2 = .059; interaction effect for liking: p = .017, ηp2 = .084). Sugar-free cookies were fixated more often (p = .028; d = 0.35) and shorter (p < .001; d = 0.64) than sugar cookies.

CONCLUSION

Assuming that cookies are sugar-free reduced the reported preference for this product, which was associated with a more detail-oriented (critical) viewing pattern. The study's findings have potential implications for public health and can aid in developing targeted interventions to promote healthier food choices during festive periods. The new strategies should not focus on the sugar content of foods.

Associations between attitudes towards and reported intakes of sugars, low/no-calorie sweeteners, and sweet-tasting foods in a UK sample

Public health initiatives are currently aiming to lower free sugar intakes for health benefits, but attitudes towards sugars, their alternatives such as low/no-calorie sweeteners (LNCS), and towards sweet-tasting foods may be hampering efforts. This work investigated associations between attitudes towards and the reported intakes of sugars, LNCS and sweet-tasting foods, and identified latent attitude profiles in subpopulations of adults in the United Kingdom. A total of 581 adults completed a questionnaire assessing their usual intake of sugars, LNCS and sweet-tasting foods, attitudes towards these foods and various demographic characteristics. Six principal components explained 39.1% of the variance in the attitude responses, named: 'Personal Impact', 'Personal Management', 'Apathy', 'Negativity', 'Perceived Understanding' and 'Perceived Nonautonomy'. Personal Impact was negatively associated with reported consumption of sugar-food and sweet-tasting food groups more frequently (smallest β = -0.24, p < .01). Personal Management was positively associated with reporting adding sugar and consuming sugar-food and sweet-tasting food groups more frequently (smallest β = 0.14, p < .01). Three latent classes of participants with distinct patterns of attitudes were identified, labelled: 'Feeling Ill-equipped' (n = 52), 'Actively Engaged' (n = 162) or 'Unopinionated' (n = 367). Individuals who were classed as Actively Engaged reported adding LNCS more frequently than those classed as Feeling Ill-equipped (t(212) = -2.14, p<.01), who reported consuming sweet-tasting food groups more frequently than those classed as Unopinionated (t(417) = 2.65, p < .01). These findings suggest the need for personalised approaches within public health initiatives, to reduce free sugar intakes.

Low Fat Yoghurts Produced with Different Protein Levels and Alternative Natural Sweeteners

The food industry is looking for substitutes for sucrose in food items due to the excessive consumption of products with added sugar and the demand for healthier products. Alternative natural sweeteners can help achieve this goal. Different types of low-fat yoghurts (1% fat), with low-protein and high-protein levels (3% and 4.5-6.5% protein, respectively), were produced using alternative natural sweeteners. The low-protein yoghurts were made with stevia (0.03% w/w) or agave syrup (4.5% w/w). The high-protein yoghurts were made with stevia (0.04% w/w), xylitol (6% w/w) or honey (6% w/w). Sucrose (6% w/w) was used as a control in both trials. pH and titratable acidity, CIEL*a*b* color parameters, syneresis index, rheology and the texture profile of the low-fat yoghurts were evaluated over refrigerated storage. All products underwent sensory evaluation by an untrained panel. The high-protein yoghurts were found to be more acidic (>1% as lactic acid), had a lower syneresis index (between 2.1 and 16.2%) and a better consistency (stronger gel structure) than the low-protein yoghurts. In terms of rheological parameters, stevia-sweetened yoghurts scored higher than the other sweetened yoghurts, showing a better gel structure. The different sweeteners tested did not significantly affect the sensory properties of the yoghurts, although the high-protein yoghurts scored higher for most of the attributes evaluated. Overall, consumers preferred stevia-sweetened yoghurts to yoghurts sweetened with sucrose or agave for the low-protein yoghurts. Of the tested formulations, those containing high protein with the alternative natural sweetener xylitol received higher scores in all attributes. These results reveal the potential of the tested natural sweeteners as sucrose substitutes, while contributing to improving the nutritional value of yoghurts.

The Impact of Modifiable Preoral Factors on Swallowing and Nutritional Outcomes in Healthy Adults: A Scoping Review

PURPOSE

Swallowing has previously been characterized as consisting of four phases; however, it has become apparent that these four phases are not truly discrete and may be influenced by factors occurring prior to bolus entrance into the oral cavity (i.e., preoral factors). Still, the relationship between these factors and swallowing remains poorly understood. The aim of this review was to synthesize and characterize the literature pertaining to the influence of preoral factors on swallowing and nutritional outcomes in healthy individuals.

METHOD

We performed a scoping review, searching the databases of PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane, and Scopus. Search terms included those related to swallowing, experience of preoral factors, and exclusionary terminology to reduce animal and pediatric literature. Our initial search revealed 5,560 unique articles, of which 153 met our inclusionary criteria and were accepted into the review.

RESULTS

Of the accepted articles, 78% were focused exclusively on nutritional outcomes, 17% were focused on both swallowing and nutritional outcomes, and 5% were focused on solely swallowing outcomes. Of the preoral factors examined, 99% were exteroceptive in nature (17% olfactory, 44% visual, 21% auditory, 7% tactile, 11% other), while 1% were proprioceptive in nature.

CONCLUSIONS

This review supports the influence of preoral factors on swallowing and nutritional outcomes. However, there is a large emphasis on the visual modality and on nutritional outcomes. Nearly none of the literature found in this review directly measured swallowing safety, efficiency, or physiology. Future work will benefit from a larger focus on proprioceptive preoral factors as they relate to swallowing outcomes.

Effect of nutrient, processing and hedonic claims on food-related perceptions: An experimental online study in Brazil and Germany

Prior studies on perceived healthiness of foods have often compared nutrient and hedonic claims, neglecting comparisons to a control condition. The effect of food claims focusing on the food processing level has received considerably less research attention, although food processing has been included in dietary guidelines in Brazil. Thus, the present study aimed to explore the effect of a control and processing claim, additionally to the effects of a nutrient. and hedonic claim, on perceptions related to a food item typically considered "less healthy" (chocolate cake). We further compared these effects between Brazil and Germany, a country where food processing is currently not included in dietary guidelines. A total of 634 lay adults were recruited in a cross-sectional online study and randomised to see the photo of a piece of cake with one of the four different claim conditions and to report their health-related perceptions of the cake. The main analyses included two-way ANCOVAs (4 claims x 2 countries) for each dependent variable controlled for gender, age and level of hunger; followed by post hoc tests. Overall, results revealed that in both countries, the claims highlighting nutrients or processing aspects rendered the perceptions of the cake healthier compared to the control claim. These effects were more pronounced among Brazilian than among German participants. Food-related perceptions mostly did not differ between the hedonic and control claim and did not differ at all between the nutrient and processing claims. In conclusion, it is noteworthy that, even for an inherently considered "less healthy food item" (chocolate cake) nutrient and processing claims increase healthiness perceptions. While our findings may imply that in both countries lay people are highly susceptible to nutrient claims, food processing aspects seem to be similarly relevant.

Nutritional Description of Organic and Conventional Food Products in Spain: The BADALI Project

Organic food and drink is undoubtedly a growing market. Consumers perceive organic food as healthy, and nutrition claims (NCs) and fortification may add to this perception. Whether this is true is still a matter of controversy, particularly for organic food products. We present here the first comprehensive study of large samples of six specific organic food types, analysing the nutritional quality (nutrient composition and "healthiness") as well as the use of NCs and fortification. In parallel, a comparison with conventional food is also carried out. For this purpose, the Food Database of products in the Spanish market, BADALI, was used. Four cereal-based and two dairy-substitute food types were analysed. Our results show that as many as 81% of organic foods are considered "less healthy" by the Pan American Health Organization Nutrient Profile Model (PAHO-NPM). Organic foods present a slightly improved nutrient profile compared to conventional foods. However, many of the differences, though statistically significant, are nutritionally irrelevant. Organic foods use NCs very frequently, more than conventional foods, with very little micronutrient fortification. The main conclusion of this work is that consumers' perception that organic food products are healthy is unfounded from a nutritional point of view.

Factors influencing dietary patterns among the youth from higher educational institutions in India

Purpose

To determine the factors influencing the dietary habits of the varied groups among adults in India.

Design/approach

Data on food habits such as choice of diet, preference toward meat, spicy food, sugar/calorie etc., were collected from the participants (from several higher education institutions) of different training programmes and events organised at ICAR-NAARM, Hyderabad and its students of Post Graduate Diploma in Agribusiness Management.

Findings

Results of the study indicated that the food choice of the respondents is highly influenced by their region, age and gender. Most of the respondents preferred vegetarian food with increasing age. We also noticed that as age of the respondents increased, their preference toward simple &amp; plain food (with less oil/spice) also increased. From the present investigation, it is recommended that the customized food menu should be prepared in every food serving institution based on the region, age and gender of the consumer.

Novelty

Analysis of dietary patterns can be helpful for doctors, dieticians, food policy-making, restaurateurs, youth hostels, food organisations, mega kitchens etc. that would also contribute to responsible food consumption.

Nutrition claims influence expectations about food attributes, attenuate activity in reward-associated brain regions during tasting, but do not impact pleasantness

INTRODUCTION

Nutrition claims are one of the most common tools used to improve food decisions. Previous research has shown that nutrition claims impact expectations; however, their effects on perceived pleasantness, valuation, and their neural correlates are not well understood. These claims may have both intended and unintended effects on food perception and valuation, which may compromise their effect on food decisions.

METHODS

We investigated the effects of nutrition claims on expectations, perceptions, and valuation of milk-mix drinks in a behavioral (n = 110) and an fMRI (n = 39) study. In the behavioral study, we assessed the effects of a "fat-reduced" and a "protein-rich" nutrition claim on expected and perceived food attributes of otherwise equal food products. In the fMRI study, we investigated the effect of a "protein-rich" claim on taste pleasantness perception and valuation, and on their neural correlates during tasting and swallowing.

RESULTS

We found that both nutrition claims increased expected and perceived healthiness and decreased expected but not perceived taste pleasantness. The "protein-rich" claim increased expected but not perceived satiating quality ratings, while the "fat-reduced" claim decreased both expected and perceived satiating quality ratings. In the absence vs. presence of the "protein-rich" claim, we observed an increased activity in a cluster extending to the left nucleus accumbens during tasting and an increased functional connectivity between this cluster and a cluster in right middle frontal gyrus during swallowing.

CONCLUSION

Altogether, we found that nutrition claims impacted expectations and attenuated reward-related responses during tasting but did not negatively affect perceived pleasantness. Our findings support highlighting the presence of nutrients with positive associations and exposure to foods with nutrition claims to increase their acceptance. Our study offers insights that may be valuable in designing and optimizing the use of nutrition claims.

Vegan labeling for what is already vegan: Product perceptions and consumption intentions

Given the increasing popularity of vegan labels, our study examines the effect of vegan labeling on product perceptions and consumption intentions. We focus on randomly-vegan products which are products that have neither undergone any special reformulation to be vegan nor explicitly aim to serve the market segment of vegans and vegetarians. Food marketers are often tempted to add a vegan label to their randomly-vegan products to capitalize on the growing popularity of vegan food. Our results show that labeling randomly-vegan products biases the perceived healthiness, expected taste, and perceived sustainability, but only if consumers do not expect such randomly-vegan products to be vegan by default. This translates into altered consumption intentions for these unexpected-vegan products with a vegan label (vs. no label). Importantly, this applies to both utilitarian and hedonic products. No effects attributed to the vegan label (vs. no label) were found for randomly-vegan products that consumers expected to be vegan by default.

Nutritional Description of Foods with Low- and No-Calorie Sweeteners in Spain: The BADALI Project

The use of low- and no-calorie sweeteners (LNCS) in foods has increased in recent years in response to the negative effects of free sugar on health. However, the health impact of LNCS is still unclear. Studies of the prevalence of LNCS in foods have been published previously, including in Spain. However, the use of health (HCs) and nutrition claims (NCs) to promote these foods and a full nutritional characterization are largely lacking. For this purpose, we used the BADALI database with 4218 foods present in the Spanish market. Our results show that 9.3% of foods have LNCS (including both intense and polyols). Sucralose and acesulfame K were the intense sweeteners most frequently used (52.4% and 48.2%, respectively), whereas maltitol was the preferred polyol (20.3%). Of all foods with LNCS, 30% also had added sugar. Many more foods with LNCS presented HCs and NCs than those without. Sugar was the nutrient most frequently claimed in NCs for LNCS-containing foods, whereas vitamins were for those without these sweeteners. NCs compliance with regulation was similar in both conditions (60.1% for foods without and 63.9% for foods with LNCS). As expected, foods with LNCS had less total sugar content and energy. Surprisingly, the nutrient profile of yogurts with LNCS changed completely: less total and saturated fat, whereas more proteins and sodium. Biscuits with LNCS contained more fibre. The results of our study reveal that the prevalence of LNCS is becoming high in some food types in Spain and that foods containing LNCS are more frequently promoted with HCs/NCs. In addition, it confirms the general reduction in energy and sugar content expected in foods with LNCS. Furthermore, it suggests a reformulation of products beyond sugar content.