Does Food Labeling Influence Long-term Food Intake and Eating-related Variables in Women? (MENU)

Much effort has been invested to educate Canadians about the importance of healthy eating and active living. Various food labeling strategies are currently used (e.g. nutrient-content claims approved by Health Canada), or strongly suggested (e.g. calorie information on restaurant menus), as tools to increase knowledge about healthy food choices and to help consumers make more so-called healthier choices. Does nutrition information on food labels really contribute to improve dietary intakes among the population? Some evidence does suggest that food labeling could influence consumer's choices and purchases. But, consumers remain confused about what healthy eating should be, and about how many calories they should be eating per day. Data suggest that only 50% of them truly understand and use food labels. Results regarding the impact of food labeling on intake are less convincing. We have recently shown that perceiving a snack food as healthy increased intake of that food by 35% in female students. Health halos promoted by nutrition information may lead consumers to draw misleading inferences from food labels. Considering current public pressure on health authorities to increased availability of nutrition information as a way to attack the obesity epidemic, long-term impact of food labeling strategies on food intake regulation represents a critical key issue that have not been yet investigated.

The general objective of the present research proposal is to investigate how providing nutritional information on food labels influences intake and eating-related variables over a 10-day period among women. We will more specifically:

1. Compare the impact of 1) nutrient quality and 2) calorie content food labels vs. "no label" condition on mean ad libitum intake and appetite sensations before/after meals over a 10-day period in women.
2. Examine how body weight (normal versus obesity) influences the impact of the nutrient quality and calorie content food labels on mean ad libitum intake and appetite sensations over a 10-day period in women.
3. Verify whether types of food labels influence attitudes towards meals offered (i.e. perceived healthiness, appropriateness, palatability) over a 10-day period in women.