Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Cancer Council Victoria, 200 Victoria Pde., East Melbourne, VIC, 3002, Australia.
School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2024 May 21;21(1):60. doi: 10.1186/s12966-024-01603-9.
The retail market for toddler-specific packaged foods is growing. Many of these products are ultra-processed and high in nutrients of concern for health, yet marketed in ways that may make them appear wholesome. This study aims to assess parents' responses to claims on unhealthy, ultra-processed toddler food products and test whether removing such claims promotes more accurate product perceptions and healthier product preferences.
Parents of toddlers aged 12 to < 36 months (N = 838) were recruited for an online experiment testing four on-pack claim conditions: control (no claim); 'contains "good" ingredient'; 'free from "bad" ingredient'; and unregulated 'child-related' claim. Participants were randomly assigned to one condition, then viewed images of toddler food products that varied in nutrition content and the claims displayed. Participants completed tasks assessing product preferences (unhealthy product displaying claim vs. a healthier option with no claim, across four food categories (banana bars, strawberry snacks, blueberry yogurt snacks and veggie snacks)), purchase intentions and product perceptions. Poisson regression (count variable) and linear regression (continuous outcomes) analyses were employed to test for mean differences by marketing claim conditions.
For the overall sample, brief exposure to 'free from "bad" ingredient' claims increased participant's intentions to purchase unhealthy food products for their toddlers, but there was no clear evidence that 'contains "good" ingredient' claims and 'child-related' claims significantly impacted parent's preferences, purchase intentions and perceptions of toddler foods. However, certain claims influenced particular parent subgroups. Notably, parents with three or more children chose more unhealthy products when these products displayed 'contains "good" ingredient' or 'free from "bad" ingredient' claims; the latter claims also promoted stronger purchase intentions and enhanced product perceptions among this subgroup.
Findings indicate that 'free from "bad" ingredient' claims on unhealthy toddler foods are of most concern, as they boost the appeal of these products to parents. 'Contains "good" ingredient' claims and 'child-related' claims showed limited effects in this study. Considering available evidence, we recommend claims should not be permitted on child-oriented foods, as they may promote inaccurate product perceptions and unhealthy product choices by parents, that can detract from their children's diets and health.
面向幼儿的包装食品零售市场正在增长。这些产品中许多都是超加工食品，其营养成分对健康存在潜在威胁，但商家却采用各种营销手段让其看上去很健康。本研究旨在评估父母对幼儿超加工不健康食品声称的反应，并检验去除此类声称是否能使产品认知更准确、产品选择更健康。
研究招募了 12 至<36 月龄幼儿的家长参与一项在线实验，该实验共测试了四种包装声称条件：无声称（对照）、“含有‘好’成分”、“不含‘坏’成分”和不受监管的“儿童相关”声称。参与者随机分入一种条件，然后查看营养成分不同、且具有不同声称的幼儿食品图像。参与者完成了产品偏好（展示声称的不健康产品与无声称的更健康选择之间的选择）、购买意向和产品认知任务。采用泊松回归（计数变量）和线性回归（连续结果）分析来检验营销声称条件下的均值差异。
对于总体样本，“不含‘坏’成分”的声称可使参与者购买幼儿不健康食品的意愿增强，但“含有‘好’成分”和“儿童相关”声称并没有明显影响父母对幼儿食品的偏好、购买意向和认知。然而，某些声称会影响特定的父母亚组。值得注意的是，有三个或更多孩子的父母在产品显示“含有‘好’成分”或“不含‘坏’成分”声称时会选择更多不健康的产品；在后一种情况下，声称还能增强该亚组的购买意向和产品认知。
研究结果表明，“不含‘坏’成分”的声称对幼儿不健康食品的吸引力最大，因为这增加了产品对家长的吸引力。“含有‘好’成分”和“儿童相关”声称在本研究中效果有限。考虑到现有证据，我们建议不应在面向儿童的食品上使用声称，因为这可能会使家长对产品产生不准确的认知，并选择不健康的产品，从而影响儿童的饮食和健康。
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