Potential problems with increasing serving sizes on the Nutrition Facts label.

Area of Science:

• Consumer Behavior
• Food Science
• Nutritional Labeling

Background:

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is increasing serving sizes on Nutrition Facts labels.
• The impact of these updated serving size recommendations on consumer behavior is not yet understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate consumers' understanding of current serving size information.
• To determine if exposure to proposed, larger serving sizes influences food consumption and purchasing behaviors.

Main Methods:

• Study 1: Assessed consumer interpretation of Nutrition Facts label serving sizes.
• Studies 2-4: Examined the effect of current versus proposed Nutrition Facts labels on self-serving and purchasing behaviors for oneself and others.

Main Results:

• A majority of consumers (over 78%) incorrectly interpret serving sizes as recommended single-sitting portions.
• Exposure to proposed larger serving sizes led to significant increases in food served and purchased, including 41% more cookies, 27% more crackers, and 43% more lasagnas.

Conclusions:

• Consumers may misinterpret serving size information, assuming it represents a recommended portion.
• Increased serving sizes on Nutrition Facts labels may inadvertently encourage larger portion consumption and purchasing.