Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany; Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
Nutr Res. 2024 Nov;131:111-120. doi: 10.1016/j.nutres.2024.09.007. Epub 2024 Sep 14.
To make healthy food choices, consumers need to be aware of the sugar content of foods. Units act as an environmental cue that might influence sugar content estimation accuracy. The present study (1) tested whether estimations of sugar content are more accurate in sugar cubes vs grams, (2) compared accuracy of sugar content to estimations of the foods' weight and energy content, and (3) investigated gender, education, and body mass index as potential correlates. A sample of 886 adults was randomly assigned to estimating the sugar content of 10 common foods in grams or cubes. Estimations of sugar content diverged considerably from actual values in both groups (0.22 ≤ Cohen's ds ≤ 1.20; 0.20 ≤ Cohen's ds ≤ 1.10), but were more pronounced for sugar content estimations in grams in 7 out of 10 foods (ts ≥ 4.04, Ps < .001, Cohen's ds ≥ 0.14). Sugar content misestimation was somewhat more pronounced than misestimation of weight (0.05 ≤ Cohen's ds ≤ 1.43) and energy content (0.04 ≤ Cohen's ds ≤ 1.19). Relationships between sugar content misestimation and gender (0.00 ≤ Cohen's ds ≤ 0.33), education (-0.07 ≤ r ≤ 0.11), and body mass index (-0.08 ≤ r ≤ 0.06) were mostly negligible. Although sugar content estimations were somewhat more accurate in sugar cubes vs grams, estimation accuracy is generally low. In addition to promoting consumers' knowledge through labeling and education, additional avenues for interventions might need to be explored for sizeable effects on food choices.
为了做出健康的食物选择，消费者需要了解食物的含糖量。单位可以作为一种环境提示，可能会影响对糖含量估计的准确性。本研究（1）测试了在糖块与克之间估计糖含量是否更准确，（2）比较了糖含量与食物重量和能量含量估计的准确性，（3）调查了性别、教育和身体质量指数作为潜在的相关性。随机选择了 886 名成年人，让他们分别以克或块的形式估计 10 种常见食物的糖含量。在两组中，对糖含量的估计与实际值相差很大（0.22 ≤ Cohen's ds ≤ 1.20；0.20 ≤ Cohen's ds ≤ 1.10），但在 7 种食物中的 10 种食物中，以克为单位的糖含量估计更为明显（ts ≥ 4.04，Ps <.001，Cohen's ds ≥ 0.14）。糖含量的错误估计比重量（0.05 ≤ Cohen's ds ≤ 1.43）和能量含量（0.04 ≤ Cohen's ds ≤ 1.19）的错误估计更为明显。糖含量错误估计与性别（0.00 ≤ Cohen's ds ≤ 0.33）、教育（-0.07 ≤ r ≤ 0.11）和身体质量指数（-0.08 ≤ r ≤ 0.06）之间的关系大多可以忽略不计。尽管糖块的糖含量估计比克的估计更准确，但估计的准确性通常较低。除了通过标签和教育来提高消费者的知识外，还需要探索其他干预途径，以对食物选择产生显著影响。
