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Do dietary intakes affect search for nutrient information on food labels?
Chung-Tung Jordan Lin1, Jonq-Ying Lee, Steven T Yen
1Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, US Food and Drug Administration, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, HFS-727, College Park, MD 20740-3835, USA.
Social Science & Medicine (1982)
|August 18, 2004
Summary
Consumers who eat more total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol are less likely to check nutrition labels for this information. Innovative nutrition education is needed to encourage label searching among those with unhealthy dietary habits.
Area of Science:
- Public health nutrition
- Health behavior science
- Consumer science
Background:
- Nutrition labels aim to inform consumer choices and protect public health.
- High intake of total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol increases heart disease risk.
- Understanding consumer use of food label information is crucial for public health initiatives.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between dietary intake of total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol and consumer search behavior for this information on food labels.
- To explore the influence of psychological and demographic factors on the use of nutrition labels.
- To examine the role of perceived benefits, costs, and capabilities in food label information search.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the 1994-1996 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals and Diet and Health Knowledge Survey (USDA).
- Employed logistic regression models to estimate the association between nutrient intake, psychological factors, and label information search.
- Analyzed the impact of perceived benefits, costs, capabilities, nutrition knowledge, and health beliefs on search behavior.
Main Results:
- Individuals consuming higher amounts of total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol were less likely to search for this information on food labels.
- Label search behavior was significantly associated with perceived benefits and costs, perceived capability, nutrition knowledge, and health beliefs.
- Awareness of the link between excessive nutrient consumption and health problems influenced label search.
Conclusions:
- Consumers with unhealthy dietary patterns are less inclined to seek information about problematic nutrients on food labels.
- Effective strategies are needed to encourage label use among at-risk populations.
- Nutrition education can play a vital role by enhancing motivation and providing practical skills for label interpretation.