View the label before you view the movie: A field experiment into the impact of Portion size and Guideline Daily Amounts labelling on soft drinks in cinemas

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Willemijn M Vermeer¹  Ingrid HM Steenhuis¹  Michiel de Boer¹  Franca H Leeuwis¹  Jacob C Seidell¹  Arjan ER Bos² 

[1] Department of Health Sciences and the EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands;Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, The Netherlands;

关键词: Portion sizes;    Food labelling;    Obesity prevention;    Environmental interventions;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-11-438

 received in 2010-12-23, accepted in 2011-06-06,  发布年份 2011

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundLarge soft drink sizes increase consumption, and thereby contribute to obesity. Portion size labelling may help consumers to select more appropriate food portions. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of portion size and caloric Guidelines for Daily Amounts (GDA) labelling on consumers' portion size choices and consumption of regular soft drinks.MethodsA field experiment that took place on two subsequent evenings in a Dutch cinema. Participants (n = 101) were asked to select one of five different portion sizes of a soft drink. Consumers were provided with either portion size and caloric GDA labelling (experimental condition) or with millilitre information (control condition).ResultsLabelling neither stimulated participants to choose small portion sizes (OR = .75, p = .61, CI: .25 - 2.25), nor did labelling dissuade participants to choose large portion sizes (OR = .51, p = .36, CI: .12 - 2.15).ConclusionsPortion size and caloric GDA labelling were found to have no effect on soft drink intake. Further research among a larger group of participants combined with pricing strategies is required. The results of this study are relevant for the current public health debate on food labelling.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Vermeer et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011