Search

Abstract Background Several health control policies have been discussed as a regulatory approach to tackle the increasing prevalence of obesity and other health risks related to sugar consumption. Health warnings, like the ones used in tobacco control worldwide, are one of the most promising approaches. However, in the case of health warning messages for food products, it is much more complicated and involves much more consumer involvement than tobacco guidance. Therefore, it is important to better understand the efficacy, evaluation, and reactance of health warning labels in the food sector regarding consumers’ behavior, persuasion, and perceptions. The aim of this study was to examine how different types (design and message) of health warning messages in combination with graphical applications affect consumer behavior. Methods In a 3 × 3 × 3 symmetrical design, 1,040 German participants completed an online discrete choice experiment including various text-only and image-and-text health warning labels on sweets. An accompanying questionnaire assessed socio-demographic variables as well as psychometric scales to understand the relationship between fear, control, reactance, and shocking/inhibiting/mediating health-related warnings. Results Our results suggest that especially emotional graphical images combined with text health warning labels might be more influential. The health effects of immediate (caries) and more distant health consequences (diabetes/obesity) differ in their impact. Further, results show that especially when consumers engage in a danger control process for overweight, warning messages have a negative impact on their choices. Conclusion Hence, warning labels on sweets can potentially be a decisive factor when communicating health threats related to excessive sugar consumption. In the context of a targeted health policy, we see the need for further research, especially concerning the perception and understanding of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in the population.

Intensive livestock production has been subject to increasing public criticism, including a demand for more animal-friendly housing systems and transparency. Since animal welfare is a credence attribute which cannot be evaluated on the product itself, recently various labels have been introduced to help consumers make purchasing decisions according to their animal welfare concerns. However, such labels need to be accompanied by adequate information to reveal full market power. Research on how animal welfare labels should be communicated to improve efficiency is scarce. The aim of our study is therefore to investigate the impact of different information types on the understanding and evaluation, willingness to buy (WTB) and willingness to pay (WTP) for an animal-friendly product. We used a quantitative research approach with four experimental groups (n = 200). Each group (n = 50) was presented with one of four information types that differed regarding their immersive and innovative character and all provided information about the main label criteria: group 1 received text only, group 2 text and stable pictures, group 3 text and a 360° stable video via tablet, group 4 text and a 360° stable video via virtual reality (VR) glasses. Regardless of information type, participants’ understanding of the label as well as their evaluation of animal welfare and acceptability of an exemplary stable presented improved after information was given. Furthermore, providing information positively influenced the WTB and WTP. Regarding user experience, stable insights via VR glasses were particularly appreciated, even though more simpler types were considered more favourable in terms of the usage at the point of sale (POS). We conclude that various information types can be promising to communicate certain label criteria. Both higher immersive and innovative as well as more simple information types help to make animal welfare efforts more appreciated and support consumers in decision making.

Iron deficiency is still widespread as a major health problem even in countries with adequate food supply. It mainly affects women but also vegans, vegetarians, and athletes and can lead to various clinical pictures. Biofortification of vitamin C-rich vegetables with iron may be one new approach to face this nutritional challenge. However, so far, little is known about the consumer acceptance of iron-biofortified vegetables, particularly in developed countries. To address this issue, a quantitative survey of 1000 consumers in Germany was conducted. The results showed that depending on the type of vegetable, between 54% and 79% of the respondents were interested in iron-biofortified vegetables. Regression analysis showed a relationship between product acceptance, gender, and area of residence. In addition, relationships were found between consumer preferences for enjoyment, sustainability, and naturalness. Compared to functional food and dietary supplements, 77% of respondents would prefer fresh iron-rich vegetables to improve their iron intake. For a market launch, those iron-rich vegetables appear especially promising, which can additionally be advertised with claims for being rich in vitamin C and cultivated in an environmentally friendly way. Consumers were willing to pay EUR 0.10 to EUR 0.20 more for the iron-biofortified vegetables.

High sugar intake in humans is associated with the development of overweight and other diet-related diseases. The World Health Organization and other health organizations recommend limiting the sugar intake to 10% of the total energy intake. There have been different approaches of front-of-pack labelling to reduce the amount of sugar in food products. Companies use nutrition claims to advertise the sugar content (e.g., without added sugar, 30% less sugar). Such nutrition claims can lead to false assumptions about the healthiness of foods and can lead to health-halo effects. Nutrition claims make products appear healthier than they really are, the aspect advertised in the nutrition claim is transferred to the entire food product. As a result, food products can be perceived as healthy even though they are not. Recently, the Nutri-Score was introduced in an increasing number of countries throughout Europe to provide consumers with an overview of the overall nutritional quality of a product. This study analyzes if the Nutri-Score can help to prevent health-halo effects caused by nutrition claims on sugar. Therefore, an online survey consisting of a split-sample design with more than 1,000 respondents was assessed. The results show that, depending on the initial perceived healthiness of a product, the Nutri-Score is able to prevent health-halo effects caused by claims on sugar. Making the Nutri-Score mandatory when using nutrition claims would be one possible way to reduce misperceptions about unhealthy food and reduce health-halo effects caused by claims on sugar.

Informative food labels are one way to increase nutritional awareness in society and can essentially help individuals maintain balanced dietary practices. Nonetheless, making food labels ‘informative’, in the sense of applicability, is not always easy. Physical activity calorie equivalent (PACE) food labeling is one approach to achieve this goal. Yet, it is neither understood how consumers perceive PACE labels, nor how effective they are in regards to healthy food choices. Moreover, it is of interest to assess the perception of real products in close-to-realistic environments. Therefore, this study examined a simulated purchase situation and consumers’ visual attention on PACE labels—on 20 different real snack products with varying health values. In a laboratory-shopping environment, the gaze behaviors of 91 consumers were examined with a head-mounted eye-tracker. In regards to perception, it was elucidated that every participant noticed at least one PACE label. On average 1.39 PACE label fixations on different products were counted with a mean fixation duration of 0.55 s and a mean time to first fixation of 22.46 s. On average, 22.9% of the participants viewed the PACE labels at least once, but the intensity and duration varied greatly between the different products; ’healthier products’ attracted more visual attention than ‘unhealthier products’. In regards to health choice, it became obvious that the choices observed were rather healthy and PACE labels attracted attention. This may have been especially true for participants with little involvement in physical activity and health behavior, which may have been the main target group. Hence, catchy, communicable PACE labels, as well as balanced product offerings may facilitate more healthy food choices. The real-world laboratory setting offered valuable insights, which should be followed-up on.

In the global attempt to combat rising obesity rates, the introduction of health warning messages on food products is discussed as one possible approach. However, the perception of graphical health warning messages in the food context and the possible impact that they may have, in particular at the neuronal level, have hardly been studied. Therefore, the aim of this explorative study was to examine consumers’ reactions (measured as neuronal activity and subjective reporting) of two different types of graphical health warning messages on sweets compared to sweets without warning messages. One type used the red road traffic stop sign as graphical information (“Stop”), while the other one used shocking pictures (“Shock”), an approach similar to the images on cigarette packages. The neural response of 78 participants was examined with the neuroimaging technique functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Different hemodynamic responses in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), the frontopolar cortex (FOC), and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) were observed, regions which are associated with reward evaluation, social behavior consequences, and self-control. Further, the health warning messages were actively and emotionally remembered by the participants. These findings point to an interesting health information strategy, which should be explored and discussed further.