The Role of Front-of-Package Nutrition Labels with and without Explanatory Videos on Parent and Child Food Choices.

The aim of this research was to determine whether parent/child pairs choosing products from a grocery aisle labeled with front-of-package (FOP) nutrition labels would make more healthful choices than pairs who viewed the same items without labels, and to determine the added value of viewing an explanatory video before choosing. In this experiment, 175 parent/child pairs chose USD 20 worth of packaged foods and beverages from a grocery aisle in a research laboratory and were randomly assigned to see products that either did or did not have 0-4-star FOP labels, with more stars indicating more healthful products. Among those participants with access to FOP labels, half were randomly assigned to view a 30 s video explaining the FOP labels before selecting foods. Participants who saw the explanatory video before selecting among products with FOP labels chose foods with significantly more stars than participants who saw the FOP-labeled products without the video; however, there was no significant difference in mean stars on selected products between the group that saw the videos and the control group that saw neither the video nor FOP labels. We conclude that explaining new FOP labels to consumers may be necessary for the labels to prompt more healthful choices.

Examining Parent Preferences for the Use of Behavioral Economic Strategies on Children's Menus in Restaurants.

BACKGROUND: A majority of children's restaurant meals are nutritionally deficient; use of behavioral economics may improve healthful menu selections. Parents play a role in children's restaurant meal selection, thus understanding parent preferences for potential behavioral economic strategies is warranted. OBJECTIVE: To examine parent-derived and -stated preferences for selected attributes of children's restaurant menus, which included behavioral economic strategies (eg, optimal defaults and vice-virtue bundles). DESIGN: A descriptive, cross-sectional, within-subjects survey integrating a conjoint design was developed along with 8 children's menus. Menus were manipulated by varying levels of attributes (meal price, healthful side dishes, number of side dish items, healthful entrées, and cost for sugar-sweetened beverages [SSB]). Parents rated menus and attributes using Likert scales. PARTICIPANTS/SETTING: A national sample of US parents with children 4 to 10 years (n = 463) were recruited in August of 2019 via Amazon's Mechanical Turk. ANALYSIS: A conjoint (regression) analysis was conducted to derive parent preference for each attribute and overall menu preference. Descriptive statistics (means) described overall stated parent menu preferences and ratings. Cluster analysis segmented parents into groups with similar preferences. RESULTS: Derived preferences showed parents had the strongest preference for choice of side dishes (ß = .73) and low-priced menus (ß = .51), and weak preferences for inclusion of healthful entrées (ß = .04) and added cost for SSB (ß = .18). Parents stated preference was for a menu that included healthful entrées, was low priced, and featured choices for side dishes. Cluster analysis revealed half of parents preferred the low-cost children's menu with the other half of parents split evenly across preferences related to health, choice, and traditional menus. CONCLUSION: Parents stated preference was for a socially desirable menu featuring healthful entrée options and added cost for SSB, which was contrary to the conjoint derived menu preferences. Understanding parent preferences may help guide nutrition professionals working to build a more healthful food environment through the use of behavioral economic strategies.