Nutrition labeling reduces valuations of food through multiple health and taste channels

One popularized technique to promote healthy dietary choice involves posting calorie or other nutritional information at the time individuals make a consumption decision. While the evidence on the effectiveness of such interventions is mixed, relatively little work has focused on the underlying mechanisms of how such labels alter behavior. In the research reported here, we asked 87 hungry laboratory subjects to make bids over foods with or without nutrition labels present. We found that the presence of a nutrition label reduced bids by an average of 25 cents. Furthermore, we found this reduction was driven by differences in perceptions and the importance individuals placed on health features of the foods, but also by differences in the importance individuals placed on more visceral taste features. These results help explain the various methods in which nutritional information postings or other policy tools can nudge individuals to consume healthier options.