Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, Universitaetsplatz 2, 8010 Graz, Austria.
Nutrients. 2020 Jan 24;12(2):312. doi: 10.3390/nu12020312.
Color nutrition information (CNI) based on a traffic light system conveys information about food quality with a glance. The color red typically indicates detrimental food characteristics (e.g., very high sugar content) and aims at inhibiting food shopping and consumption. Red may, however, also elicit cross-modal associations with sweet taste, which is a preferable food characteristic. We conducted two experiments. An eye-tracking study investigated whether CNI has an effect on cue reactivity (dwell time, saccadic latency, wanting/liking) for sweet foods. The participants were presented with images depicting sweets (e.g., cake). Each image was preceded by a colored circle that informed about the sugar content of the food (red = high, green = low, gray = unknown). It was tested whether the red circle would help the participants to direct their gaze away from the 'high sugar' item. A second experiment investigated whether colored prime circles (red, green, gray) without nutrition information would influence the assumed sweetness of a food. In Experiment 1, CNI had the opposite of the intended effect. Dwell time and saccadic latency were higher for food items preceded by a red compared to a green circle. This unintended response was positively associated with participants' liking of sweet foods. CNI did not change the wanting/liking of the displayed foods. In Experiment 2, we found no evidence for color priming on the assumed sweetness of food. Our results question whether CNI is helpful to influence initial cue reactivity toward sweet foods.
基于红绿灯系统的色彩营养信息 (CNI) 可让人一眼了解食物质量。红色通常表示有害的食物特性（例如，糖含量非常高），旨在抑制购买和食用食物。然而，红色也可能与甜味产生跨模态联想，而甜味是一种更受欢迎的食物特性。我们进行了两项实验。一项眼动研究调查了 CNI 是否会影响对甜食的线索反应（注视时间、眼跳潜伏期、想要/喜欢）。参与者被呈现描绘甜食（如蛋糕）的图像。每个图像之前都有一个彩色圆圈，告知食物的糖含量（红色=高，绿色=低，灰色=未知）。测试红色圆圈是否有助于参与者将目光从“高糖”物品上移开。第二项实验调查了没有营养信息的彩色启动圆圈（红色、绿色、灰色）是否会影响对食物甜度的假设。在实验 1 中，CNI 的效果与预期相反。与绿色圆圈相比，红色圆圈前的食物项目的注视时间和眼跳潜伏期更高。这种非预期的反应与参与者对甜食的喜爱呈正相关。CNI 并没有改变参与者对所展示食物的想要/喜欢程度。在实验 2 中，我们没有发现颜色启动对食物甜度假设的影响。我们的结果质疑 CNI 是否有助于影响对甜食的初始线索反应。
