Consumer perspectives on the inclusion of nutritional warnings in retail food establishments

ABSTRACT The present work aimed to assess Uruguayan consumers support of the inclusion of nutritional warnings on four types of retail food establishments and to obtain consumer insights on how the warnings could be implemented in such establishments. For this purpose, an online survey was conducted with a non-probabilistic sample of 547 participants recruited via an advertisement on social media. Participants were requested to indicate their degree of agreement with the implementation of nutritional warnings in bakeries, delicatessens, fast-food restaurants and while ordering food online, and to provide ideas on how to include this information for each establishment. Results suggested that the inclusion of nutritional warnings in retail food establishments was positively perceived by participants. Participants highlighted that warnings should be highly visible to customers while making purchase decisions, so they become a relevant cue for making food choices. In particular, the retail display case and menu boards were identified as key locations for warnings in bakeries, delicatessen, and fast food restaurants, respectively. These results contribute valuable insights on how to implement the extension of nutritional warnings to unpackaged foods or foods made and packaged at the point of purchase.

RESUMEN El presente trabajo tuvo como objetivo evaluar la percepción de los consumidores uruguayos en relación a la implementación de advertencias nutricionales en cuatro puntos de venta de comida y generar ideas sobre cómo podría implementarse esta medida. Se realizó un estudio online con una muestra no probabilística de 547 participantes, reclutados utilizando publicidad en redes sociales. Los participantes indicaron su grado de acuerdo con la implementación de advertencias nutricionales en panaderías, rotiserías, lugares de venta de comida rápida y sitios de pedidos online, y proporcionaron ideas sobre cómo incluir esta inforamción en cada punto de venta. Los resultados sugieren que la población tiene una perecpeción positiva sobre la inclusión de advertencias nutricionales en puntos de venta de comida. Los participantes destacaron la importancia de incluir esta información en un lugar visible al momento de elegir los productos, de forma que pueda ser tenida en cuenta al tomar las decisiones. En particular, las vitrinas y la cartelería/pizarras fueron identificados como lugares estatégicos para la inclusión de advertencias nutricionales en panaderías/rotiserías y puntos de venta de comida rápida, respectivamente. Los resultados proporcionan valiosa información para extender la inclusión de advertencias nutricionales a puntos de venta de comida.

Dietary assessment according to frequency of food consumed away from home among children and adolescents: Based on the 2010~2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey / 한국영양학회지

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the dietary quality of food consumed away from home among Korean children and adolescents. METHODS: Data were obtained from the 2010~2012 KNHANES (Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) and included 3,583 subjects aged 7 to 18 years old. The frequency of food consumed away from home was dichotomized into more than once or less than once per day. RESULTS: Thirty percent of subjects were shown to consume food away from home more than once per day, and older children from higher income households showed a higher frequency of food consumed away from home compared to other children. The percentage of children and adolescents cited as regularly skipping breakfast was 19%. Individuals who ate out more than once per day showed higher consumption of energy and sodium than those who ate out less than once per day. CONCLUSION: Excessive intakes of energy and sodium are associated with obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity-related diseases. Thus, there is a need for nutritional intervention and educational efforts to improve child nutrition and prevent obesity.

Nutritional Quality of Korean Adults' Consumption of Lunch Prepared at Home, Commercial Places, and Institutions: Analysis of the Data from the 2001 National Health and Nutrition Survey

This study compared the nutritional quality of Korean adults's consumption of lunch prepared at home, commercial places, and institutions. The one day food intake data collected via 24-hour recall in the 2001 National Health and Nutrition Survey were analyzed. Individuals with 19 . 64 years of age were selected (n = 5,756). Sampling weights in the Survey were used to generate nationally representative estimates. Lunch was categorized into three groups according to the place where the lunch was prepared: home, commercial places, and institutions such as schools and work places. Comparison among the three groups was made for 19 . 39 years old men (n = 1,387) and women (n = 1,572) and 40 . 64 years old men (n = 1,364) and women (1,433), respectively. The lunch prepared away from home contained more calories. The lunch prepared commercially was higher in calories percentages from fat than that prepared either at home or at institutions. Across the age and gender groups, lunch prepared at home contribute a high level of sodium intake. Among individuals with 40 . 64 years of age, but not those with 19 . 39 years of age, lunch prepared commercially was as sodium dense as that prepared at home. Among individuals with 19 . 39 years of age, the sodium density of lunch prepared commercially was about the same as that prepared at institutional food service of which the menus were planned by dieticians. Such differences in nutritional quality among meals prepared at home, commercial places, and institutions should be considered and applied for the content development of nutrition education and policy.