Tapper Katy, Yarrow Kielan, Farrar Stephanie T, Mandeville Kate L
Department of Psychology, City, University of London, UK.
Department of Psychology, City, University of London, UK.
Appetite. 2022 May 1;172:105963. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2022.105963. Epub 2022 Feb 4.
This study examined the effects of calorie labelling and two key contextual factors (reflective motivation and habits) on the calorie content of hypothetical coffee-shop menu choices. In one exploratory (n = 70) and one pre-registered (n = 300) laboratory study (Studies 1 and 2 respectively), participants viewed a hypothetical calorie-labelled or non calorie-labelled menuboard and selected their preferred item(s). Coffee shop drinking habits were measured using the Self-Report Habit Index, and reflective motivation (relating to calorie intake) was assessed with three items asking about watching weight, eating healthily, and reading calorie labels. In Study 2, participants also estimated calories contained in a subset of the menuboard drinks. Results of both studies showed that labelling did not significantly affect the total calorie content of items selected. However, in Study 2, as predicted, there was a trend toward moderation by reflective motivation (p = .056) with less motivated participants showing relatively greater calorie selection when exposed to labelling. Participants with weaker habits took longer to select items (p = .002) but, contrary to predictions, were not more influenced by labelling. Higher reflective motivation was associated with selecting fewer calories (p = .002), correctly recalling the presence/absence of labelling (p = .016) and better estimating calorie content (p < .001). Overall, participants significantly underestimated calories in higher calorie drinks but overestimated calories in lower calorie drinks. The results highlight the importance of contextual factors such as habits and reflective motivation for obesity interventions and are relevant for the UK's introduction of selective mandatory calorie labelling. In some instances, labelling may actually increase intake among those less motivated by health and weight concerns, but further research is needed to substantiate this concern.
本研究考察了卡路里标签以及两个关键背景因素（反思性动机和习惯）对假设的咖啡店菜单选择中卡路里含量的影响。在一项探索性实验室研究（n = 70，研究1）和一项预先注册的实验室研究（n = 300，研究2）中，参与者查看了假设的带有卡路里标签或无卡路里标签的菜单板，并选择他们喜欢的项目。使用自我报告习惯指数测量咖啡店的饮用习惯，并用三个询问关于关注体重、健康饮食和阅读卡路里标签的项目评估反思性动机（与卡路里摄入量有关）。在研究2中，参与者还估计了菜单板饮品子集中所含的卡路里。两项研究的结果均表明，标签并未显著影响所选项目的总卡路里含量。然而，在研究2中，正如预期的那样，存在反思性动机调节的趋势（p = 0.056），动机较弱的参与者在接触标签时显示出相对更大的卡路里选择。习惯较弱的参与者选择项目花费的时间更长（p = 0.002），但与预测相反，他们受标签的影响并不更大。更高的反思性动机与选择更少的卡路里（p = 0.002）、正确回忆标签的有无（p = 0.016）以及更好地估计卡路里含量（p < 0.001）相关。总体而言，参与者显著低估了高卡路里饮品中的卡路里，但高估了低卡路里饮品中的卡路里。结果凸显了习惯和反思性动机等背景因素对肥胖干预的重要性，并且与英国引入选择性强制卡路里标签相关。在某些情况下，标签实际上可能会增加那些对健康和体重问题动机较弱者的摄入量，但需要进一步研究来证实这一担忧。
