Cao Shuyan, Tang Changyuan, Carboon Isla, Hayward Cassie, Capes Hannah, Chen Yan Jun Michelle, Brennan Emily, Dixon Helen, Wakefield Melanie, Haynes Ashleigh
Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Grattan Street, Parkville, 3010, VIC, Australia.
Empirica Research, 162 Collins Street, Melbourne, 3000, VIC, Australia.
Alcohol Alcohol. 2023 Jan 9;58(1):93-99. doi: 10.1093/alcalc/agac054.
To investigate whether 'low sugar' and related claims influence consumers' perceptions of the healthiness or other attributes of alcoholic drinks, promote greater consumption or impact diet and activity behaviour intentions.
N = 501 Australian women aged 18-35 viewed and rated six images of alcoholic drinks in a randomized online experiment with a 2 (claim: low sugar claim, no claim control) × 2 (drink type: cider, ready-to-drink spirits) between-subjects design.
Participants who viewed drinks with low sugar claims rated them as healthier, less harmful to health, lower in sugar and kilojoules, and more suitable for weight management and a healthy diet than participants who viewed identical drinks with no claim (P < 0.001-P = 0.002). Drinks with low sugar claims were also perceived as being lower in alcohol (P < 0.001) despite being of equivalent alcohol content. There were no significant differences in anticipated social approval associated with consumption or in hypothetical intended consumption of the drinks, but participants who viewed drinks with low sugar claims were less likely to indicate they would compensate for consumption of the drink by modifying food intake or physical activity (P = 0.01).
Low sugar and related claims on alcoholic drinks can generate a health halo: consumers generalise from a specific favourable attribute (low sugar) to misperceive other favourable health- and nutrition-related attributes, including lower alcohol content. Findings support calls to reconsider the permissibility of low sugar claims on alcoholic drinks as they may mislead consumers.
调查“低糖”及相关宣称是否会影响消费者对酒精饮料健康程度或其他属性的认知，是否会促使消费者增加饮酒量，或者是否会影响其饮食和运动行为意图。
在一项随机在线实验中，501名年龄在18至35岁之间的澳大利亚女性，按照2（宣称：低糖宣称、无宣称对照）×2（饮料类型：苹果酒、即饮型烈酒）的组间设计，观看并评价了六张酒精饮料图片。
与观看无宣称的相同饮料的参与者相比，观看有低糖宣称饮料的参与者认为这些饮料更健康、对健康危害更小、含糖量和能量更低，更适合体重管理和健康饮食（P<0.001 - P = 0.002）。尽管酒精含量相同，但有低糖宣称的饮料也被认为酒精含量更低（P<0.001）。在与饮酒相关的预期社会认可或假设的饮酒意图方面，没有显著差异，但观看有低糖宣称饮料的参与者表示他们通过调整食物摄入量或身体活动来补偿饮酒的可能性较小（P = 0.01）。
酒精饮料上的低糖及相关宣称会产生健康光环效应：消费者从一个特定有利属性（低糖）进行推断，从而错误地认为其他与健康和营养相关的属性也是有利的，包括较低的酒精含量。研究结果支持重新考虑酒精饮料上低糖宣称的合理性，因为它们可能会误导消费者。
