Assessment of an e-training tool for college students to improve accuracy and reduce effort associated with reading nutrition labels.

Nutrition labels are often underutilized due to the time and effort required to read them. We investigated the impact of label-reading training on effort, as well as accuracy and motivation. Eighty college students (21 men and 59 women). The training consisted of a background tutorial on nutrition followed by three blocks of practice reading labels to decide which of two foods was the relatively better choice. Label-reading effort was assessed using an eye tracker and motivation was assessed using a 6-item scale of healthy food-choice empowerment. Students showed increases in label-reading accuracy, decreases in label-reading effort, and increases in empowerment. The nutrition label e-training tool presented here, whether used alone or as part of other wellness and health programs, may be an effective way to boost students' label-reading skills and healthy food choices, before they settle into grocery shopping habits.