- Nutritional marketing claims on food packaging can lead to misconceptions about the overall health value of foods.
- A survey of more than 1,000 people suggests that the Nutri-Score, a nutritional score added to products across Europe, can prevent misconceptions about food health caused by sugar claims.
- The authors suggest that the Nutri-Score label should be mandatory when making nutritional claims about a food.
Sugar is widely known as one of the most addictive substances in our diet.
Consequently, sugar consumption in the United States has scaring in the last decade.
The average daily intake of added sugars for an adult in the US in 2017-2018 was 17 teaspoons per day. This is much higher than the recommended intake by the American Heart Association (AHA), which is 9 teaspoons per day for men and 6 teaspoons per day for women.
This is a worrying trend, as excessive sugar consumption is associated with several health risks, including being overweight and obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart diseaseY Chronic inflamation.
Experts have tried various methods to help people reduce their sugar intake, including nutrition labeling. One of those labels is Nutri-score label, widely used in Europe, a color-coded labeling system that ranks foods from A to E (best to worst) using a traffic light system (green to red).
In a new study, researchers show that the Nutri-Score label can more accurately represent the nutritional value of foods, avoiding health misconceptions that can be caused by advertising claims about sugar, such as “no added sugar.”
The researchers recommend that the Nutri-Score label be mandatory when using nutrition claims. Their findings appear in the journal plus one.
Thanks to growing consumer awareness of the health dangers associated with excessive sugar consumption, companies are increasing their efforts to reduce the sugar content of their foods and beverages.
Companies also often use these reductions as advertising claims on product packaging, such as “no added sugar” or “30% less sugar.”
However, marketing claims like these can lead consumers to make incorrect assumptions about the food’s overall nutritional value. For example, just because a particular brand of breakfast cereals claims to be “reduced sugar” does not mean it is a healthy food. This is known as the “health halo” effect.
Lead author of the study Dr. Kristin Jurkenbeck explained for Today’s medical news:
“The health halo effect means that a single characteristic is understood as a signal of an overall favorable nutritional profile. Marketing claims such as 30% less sugar or high protein content can lead to overestimation of the health value of a food product. These buzzwords make foods appear healthier in the consumer’s perception than they really are.”
In their study, Dr. Jürkenbeck and her team evaluated whether food labeling, specifically the Nutri-Score label used in Europe, could help prevent these false assumptions.
To assess the impact of the Nutri-Score on food perceptions, researchers conducted an online survey of 1,103 people in Germany.
In the survey, respondents were asked to rate the nutritional profiles of three products – instant cappuccino, chocolate muesli and oat drink – from very healthy to very unhealthy.
Participants were randomly given different claims about the products, such as no added sugar, less sweet, or 30% less sugar.
They received these claims with and without the Nutri-Score label attached.
The results showed that consumers pay more attention to ingredients when shopping for food, followed by sugar and fat content, confirming the importance of sugar when consumers choose what to buy.
Participants rated chocolate muesli as the least healthy product, followed by instant cappuccino and oat drink, which had a positive health image.
Importantly, the researchers also found that participants’ health assessments of foods changed based on nutritional claims.
For example, in the case of chocolate muesli, health assessments improved when the 30% less sugar claim was presented, confirming the health halo effect.
However, when the Nutri-Score label, a score of C or D on the scale, was also displayed, the effect of the claim was corrected.
“The study shows how difficult it is for consumers to realistically assess the nutritional quality of foods,” Dr. Jürkenbeck summarized.
Their article recommends that the Nutri-Score label be mandatory, at least when marketing claims are made on the package, to avoid misleading consumers about a food’s health value.
The researchers say that other measures, such as sugar taxes, would also be helpful, but would be more difficult to implement.
“An interpretive label like the Nutri-Score can counteract the effects of sugar claims, which can make foods appear healthier than they are. The Nutri-Score allows consumers to better rank foods in terms of their health value.”
– Dr. Kristin Jurkenbeck
