Designing an Effective Front-of-Package Warning Label for Food and Drinks High in Added Sugar, Sodium, or Saturated Fat in Colombia: An Online Experiment.

Publisher: MDPI Publishing Country of Publication: Switzerland NLM ID: 101521595 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 2072-6643 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 20726643 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Nutrients Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: Basel, Switzerland : MDPI Publishing

Consumer Behavior* ; Food* ; Food Analysis* ; Legislation, Food*; Dietary Fats/*adverse effects ; Dietary Fats/*analysis ; Dietary Sugars/*administration & dosage ; Dietary Sugars/*adverse effects ; Fatty Acids/*administration & dosage ; Fatty Acids/*adverse effects ; Feeding Behavior/*psychology ; Food Labeling/*legislation & jurisprudence ; Food Labeling/*methods ; Nutrition Policy/*legislation & jurisprudence ; Obesity/*prevention & control ; Sugar-Sweetened Beverages/*adverse effects ; Sugar-Sweetened Beverages/*analysis; Adult ; Colombia/epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Obesity/epidemiology ; Prevalence ; Young Adult

Policies to require warnings on the front of food and drinks high in nutrients of concern (e.g., added sugar, sodium, or saturated fat) are becoming increasingly common as an obesity prevention strategy. Colombia, a country with growing prevalence of obesity, is considering implementing a similar policy. The objective of this study was to assess perceptions and reactions to different warning designs. We conducted a randomized experiment in an online panel of adults age > 18y ( n = 1997). Participants were randomized to view one of four labels: a control label (barcode), an octagon warning, a circle warning, and a triangle warning. Participants viewed their randomly assigned label on a series of products and answered questions (continuous outcomes ranged from 1-4). Compared to the control, all warnings led to higher perceived message effectiveness (increase in mean from 1.79 in the control to 2.59-2.65 in the warning conditions, p < 0.001), a higher percentage of participants who correctly identified products high in nutrients of concern (from 48% in the control condition to 84-89% in the warning conditions, p < 0.001), and reduced intentions to purchases these products (decrease in mean from 2.59 to 1.99-2.01 in the warning conditions, p < 0.001). Relative to the control, warnings performed similarly across education levels, suggesting this policy would be equitable in Colombia. Looking at differences by warning type, the pattern of results suggested that the octagon warnings performed best. After viewing all label types, 49% of participants selected the octagon warning as the one that most discouraged them from consuming products high in nutrients of concern, while 21% and 27% selected the circle and triangle warning. Colombian policymakers should consider the octagon warning as part of a front-of-package labeling policy to help consumers identify and reduce consumption of foods and drinks high in nutrients of concern.

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K01 HL147713 United States HL NHLBI NIH HHS; P2C HD050924 United States HD NICHD NIH HHS; 01HL147713 United States HL NHLBI NIH HHS

Keywords: Latin America; added sugar; food policy; front-of-package labeling; obesity prevention; sugar-sweetened beverages

0 (Dietary Fats)
0 (Dietary Sugars)
0 (Fatty Acids)

Date Created: 20201017 Date Completed: 20210415 Latest Revision: 20210430

20240105

PMC7601991

10.3390/nu12103124

33066130