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Updated: Jun 16, 2025
Psychophysical Tracking Method to Measure Taste Preferences in Children and Adults
Published on: July 16, 2016
Parent and Child Choice of Sugary Drinks Under Four Labelling Conditions
Zenobia Talati1,2,3, Thomas McAlpine1,3, Katlyn Mackenzie1,4
1School of Population Health, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia.
Insights
Front-of-pack nutrition labels influence children's beverage choices. Warning labels and sugar content visuals were more effective than Health Star Ratings in promoting healthier drinks for Australian children.
Area of Science:
- Public Health Nutrition
- Child Nutrition
- Health Communication
Background:
- Australian children frequently exceed recommended free sugar intake, primarily from sugar-sweetened beverages.
- Front-of-pack nutrition labels can mitigate sugar-sweetened beverage consumption by increasing perceived risk.
- Previous research predominantly focused on parental beverage choices for children, not children's own preferences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of four distinct front-of-pack label designs on beverage selections made by Australian children and their parents.
- To compare the effectiveness of text-based warnings, tooth decay pictorials, teaspoons of sugar, and Health Star Ratings on children's drink choices.
Main Methods:
- An online vending machine simulation was employed with 1229 Australian parent-child dyads.
- Participants (children aged 4-11 years and their parents) made independent beverage choices before and after randomization to a label condition.
- Beverage healthiness was objectively rated by a panel of 10 dietitians and nutritionists on a 1-10 scale.
Main Results:
- For parents, all tested label designs demonstrated comparable effectiveness in influencing beverage choices.
- For children, the 'teaspoons of sugar' label, text-based warning, and tooth decay pictorial significantly outperformed the Health Star Rating.
- These specific labels were more impactful in guiding children towards healthier beverage options.
Conclusions:
- Findings suggest that certain front-of-pack labels are more effective in influencing children's beverage choices than others.
- Public health initiatives can leverage these findings to enhance food labelling policies and educational materials.
- This research provides evidence to support the development of resources that improve children's understanding of drink nutritional content.
Abstract:
Background: The majority of Australian children exceed the World Health Organization's recommended dietary intake of free sugar, particularly through the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. Front-of-pack nutrition labels increase perceived risk and deter the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. However, past studies of young children have focused almost exclusively on a parent's choice of beverage for children. This study investigated the influence of four label designs (text-based warning, tooth decay pictorial, teaspoons of sugar, and Health Star Rating) on the beverage choices of N = 1229 Australian children (aged 4-11 years) and their parents. Methods: In an online vending machine scenario, parent-child dyads were separately asked to select which beverage they would choose for themselves before and after being randomised to one label condition. The beverages displayed included 100% fruit juice, soft drink, soft drink with a non-nutritive sweetener, flavoured milk, plain milk and bottled water. Beverage healthiness was determined by a 1-10 rating based on a review by a panel of experts (10 dietitians and nutritionists). Results: Mixed-model ANOVAs showed that for parents, each label design performed comparably; however, for children, small but significant differences were seen in the effectiveness of different label designs, with the teaspoons of sugar label, text-based warning, and tooth decay pictorial found to be more impactful in promoting healthier drink choices than the Health Star Rating. Conclusions: These findings can inform public health advocacy efforts to improve food labelling and could be incorporated into educational resources to help children understand the nutritional profiles of different sugary drinks.
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