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Food Science and Human Wellness 2024, 13(3): 1195-1200 https://doi.org/10.26599/FSHW.2022.9250099
Research Article | Open Access | Issue | Published: 08 February 2024

Learning about good nutrition with the 5-color front-of-package label“Nutri-Score”: an experimental study

Show Author's Information Robin C. Haua,,  Klaus W. Langeb( )
University of Applied Sciences Landshut, Landshut 84036, Germany
Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Regensburg, Regensburg 93040, Germany

Peer review under responsibility of Tsinghua University Press.

Keywords:
Health, Nutrition, Nutri-Score, Front-of-package label, Nudge
Cite this article:
Hau RC, Lange KW. Learning about good nutrition with the 5-color front-of-package label“Nutri-Score”: an experimental study. Food Science and Human Wellness, 2024, 13(3): 1195-1200. https://doi.org/10.26599/FSHW.2022.9250099
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Abstract Full text About this article

The Nutri-Score is a 5-color front-of-pack nutrition label designed to provide consumers with an easily understandable guideline to the healthiness of food products. The impact that the Nutri-Score may have on consumers’ choices is unclear since different experimental paradigms have found vastly different effect sizes. In the present study, we have investigated how student participants change a hypothetical personal 1-day-dietary plan after a learning phase during which they learn about the Nutri-Scores of the available food items. Participants were instructed to compose a healthy diet plan in order that the question of whether the Nutri-Score would improve their ability to compose a healthy dietary plan could be investigated, independent of the question of whether they would apply this knowledge in their ordinary lives. We found a substantial (Cohen’s d = 0.86) positive impact on nutritional quality (as measured by the Nutrient Profiling System score of the Food Standards Agency) and a medium-sized (Cohen’s d = 0.43) reduction of energy content. Energy content reduction was larger for participants who had initially composed plans with higher energy content. The results suggest that the Nutri-Score has the potential to guide consumers to healthier food choices. It remains unclear, however, whether this potential will be reflected in real-life dietary choices.


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About this article

Learning about good nutrition with the 5-color front-of-package label“Nutri-Score”: an experimental study

Show Author's information Robin C. Haua,, Klaus W. Langeb( )
University of Applied Sciences Landshut, Landshut 84036, Germany
Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Regensburg, Regensburg 93040, Germany

Peer review under responsibility of Tsinghua University Press.

Abstract

The Nutri-Score is a 5-color front-of-pack nutrition label designed to provide consumers with an easily understandable guideline to the healthiness of food products. The impact that the Nutri-Score may have on consumers’ choices is unclear since different experimental paradigms have found vastly different effect sizes. In the present study, we have investigated how student participants change a hypothetical personal 1-day-dietary plan after a learning phase during which they learn about the Nutri-Scores of the available food items. Participants were instructed to compose a healthy diet plan in order that the question of whether the Nutri-Score would improve their ability to compose a healthy dietary plan could be investigated, independent of the question of whether they would apply this knowledge in their ordinary lives. We found a substantial (Cohen’s d = 0.86) positive impact on nutritional quality (as measured by the Nutrient Profiling System score of the Food Standards Agency) and a medium-sized (Cohen’s d = 0.43) reduction of energy content. Energy content reduction was larger for participants who had initially composed plans with higher energy content. The results suggest that the Nutri-Score has the potential to guide consumers to healthier food choices. It remains unclear, however, whether this potential will be reflected in real-life dietary choices.

Keywords: Health, Nutrition, Nutri-Score, Front-of-package label, Nudge

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Received: 02 February 2023
Revised: 07 February 2023
Accepted: 09 February 2023
Published: 08 February 2024
Issue date: May 2024

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© 2024 Beijing Academy of Food Sciences. Publishing services by Tsinghua University Press.

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This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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