Department of Health Studies and Gerontology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada.
Public Health Nutr. 2011 Aug;14(8):1496-506. doi: 10.1017/S1368980010003290. Epub 2011 Jan 18.
To review research on consumer use and understanding of nutrition labels, as well as the impact of labelling on dietary habits.
A systematic review was conducted by searching electronic databases. Relevant articles were screened by two reviewers and included if they met inclusion criteria, including eight methodological criteria. A total of 120 articles were included in the review, including cross-sectional surveys (n 96), experimental designs (n 17), 'natural experiments' (n 7) and longitudinal population-based surveys (n 2).
Articles covered seven jurisdictions: USA (n 88), Europe (n 12), Canada (n 9), Australia and New Zealand (n 4), Norway (n 2), Thailand (n 1) and Trinidad (n 1).
Participants were from a wide range of age groups, socio-economic strata and geographical regions.
Nutrition labels on pre-packaged foods are among the most prominent sources of nutrition information. Nutrition labels are perceived as a highly credible source of information and many consumers use nutrition labels to guide their selection of food products. Evidence also shows a consistent link between the use of nutrition labels and healthier diets. However, the use of labels varies considerably across subgroups, with lower use among children, adolescents and older adults who are obese. Research also highlights challenges in terms of consumer understanding and appropriate use of labelling information.
Nutrition labels on pre-packaged foods are a cost-effective population-level intervention with unparalleled reach. However, to capitalize on their potential, governments will need to explore new formats and different types of information content to ensure that nutrition information is accessible and understandable.
综述消费者对营养标签的使用和理解，以及标签对饮食习惯的影响的研究。
通过检索电子数据库进行系统评价。由两名评审员筛选相关文章，如果符合包括 8 项方法学标准在内的纳入标准，则将其纳入。综述共纳入 120 篇文章，包括横断面调查（n=96）、实验设计（n=17）、“自然实验”（n=7）和基于人群的纵向调查（n=2）。
文章涵盖了七个司法管辖区：美国（n=88）、欧洲（n=12）、加拿大（n=9）、澳大利亚和新西兰（n=4）、挪威（n=2）、泰国（n=1）和特立尼达（n=1）。
参与者年龄范围广泛，来自不同社会经济阶层和地理区域。
预包装食品上的营养标签是最突出的营养信息来源之一。营养标签被视为高度可信的信息来源，许多消费者使用营养标签来指导他们选择食品。有证据表明，使用营养标签与更健康的饮食之间存在一致的联系。然而，标签的使用在不同亚组之间存在很大差异，肥胖的儿童、青少年和老年人的使用频率较低。研究还强调了消费者对标签信息理解和正确使用方面的挑战。
预包装食品上的营养标签是一种具有成本效益的人群干预措施，具有无与伦比的影响力。然而，为了充分利用其潜力，政府需要探索新的格式和不同类型的信息内容，以确保营养信息是可及和可理解的。
