Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA.
Rosebud Food Sovereignty Initiative, REDCO, Mission, SD 57555, USA.
Nutrients. 2019 Sep 22;11(10):2272. doi: 10.3390/nu11102272.
The decades-long increase in obesity in the US has led to a number of policies aimed at improving diets, which are thought to play a significant role in obesity. Many of these policies seek to influence individuals' behaviors. Front-of-package labels providing salient, easily interpretable information to consumers have exhibited promise in helping people identify and choose healthier foods. However, behavioral economics may offer an opportunity to enhance label effectiveness. Tailoring labels to high-risk communities, including minority and rural populations, which have higher rates of diet-related diseases than the overall population, may increase the label's effectiveness. We conducted a choice experiment with supermarket shoppers on a rural American Indian reservation to test labels tailored to the local population relative to a generic label, which had previously been identified as highly effective in the general population. Results show that while the generic label continues to be quite effective in encouraging healthier choices, the label that is tailored to the local community is more effective, resulting in a marked increase in the premium shoppers were willing to pay for a healthy item. Tailoring healthy food labeling systems using insights from behavioral economics may increase their effectiveness.
美国肥胖症的发病率在过去几十年中持续上升，这导致了许多旨在改善饮食的政策的出台，这些政策被认为在肥胖症中起着重要作用。这些政策中的许多都试图影响个人的行为。在包装正面提供突出、易于理解的信息给消费者的标签已经显示出了帮助人们识别和选择更健康食品的潜力。然而，行为经济学可能提供了增强标签效果的机会。针对高危人群（包括少数民族和农村人口）定制标签，这些人群的饮食相关疾病发病率高于整个人口，可能会提高标签的效果。我们在美国印第安人保留地的一家超市进行了一项选择实验，以测试针对当地人口的标签与通用标签的效果，通用标签在普通人群中被证明非常有效。结果表明，虽然通用标签在鼓励更健康的选择方面仍然非常有效，但针对当地社区的标签效果更好，这导致愿意为健康食品支付更高溢价的购物者数量显著增加。利用行为经济学的见解来定制健康食品标签系统可能会提高其效果。
