a Department of Policy Analysis and Management , Cornell University , Ithaca , NY , USA.
b Department of Communication , Cornell University , Ithaca , NY , USA.
Health Commun. 2018 Dec;33(12):1425-1433. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2017.1358240. Epub 2017 Aug 30.
Research on front-of-package (FOP) labeling demonstrates that nutrient content claims (e.g., "low fat") can lead consumers to perceive foods as healthier in general-effects that have been interpreted using halo effect theories of impression formation. Extending this work, the present study investigates whether these effects may depend on whether nutrient information comes in the form of a nutrient content claim ("good source of protein") or embedded within the product title itself ("protein" bar)-an important question given the popularity of energy/nutrition bars and ongoing policy debates over food-labeling regulation. Results from a between-subjects experiment (n = 274) revealed that although both conditions increased perceived protein content for a nutritional bar, only the product title condition increased overall perceptions of product healthfulness-an effect mediated by increased perceptions of additional non-claimed "healthy" nutrients (fiber, iron). Finally, although the presence of a traffic light warning label increased perceived sugar and calorie content, it did not counteract the effect of the product title on perceived healthfulness. We conclude with a discussion focused on implications for policy and health halo effects in the context of food labeling.
包装正面（FOP）标签研究表明，营养成分声称（例如“低脂”）会使消费者普遍认为食品更健康——这些影响可以用印象形成的晕轮效应理论来解释。为了扩展这项工作，本研究调查了这些影响是否可能取决于营养信息是作为营养成分声称（“富含蛋白质”）出现，还是嵌入产品标题本身（“蛋白质”棒）——鉴于能量/营养棒的流行以及正在进行的食品标签监管政策辩论，这是一个重要的问题。一项 274 名被试的组间实验的结果表明，虽然两种条件都提高了营养棒的蛋白质含量感知，但只有产品标题条件提高了对产品整体健康度的感知——这一效应是通过增加对额外非声称的“健康”营养素（纤维、铁）的感知来介导的。最后，虽然红绿灯警示标签的存在增加了对糖和卡路里含量的感知，但它并没有抵消产品标题对健康感知的影响。我们最后讨论了食品标签背景下的政策和健康晕轮效应的影响。
