Dissertation (PhD)--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Obesity has risen drastically in the past few decades. Some experts contribute this to an increased prevalence of eating food away from home and consuming large portion sizes. A popular discussion in policy and legislation arenas has been mandatory implementation of nutrition information on restaurant chain menus. Menu labeling in restaurants that have 20 or more locations nationally was first implemented by New York City in an effort to increase consumer awareness of the calorie content of menu entrees. Since New York City’s implementation of restaurant menu labeling in 2008, there have been conflicting studies on whether nutrition menu labeling improves consumers’ selection of healthier menu items. Conducted on consumers in Lexington, Kentucky, this study focuses on factors influencing nutrition information on restaurant menus. This experimental research design included one menu with calorie information next to the menu items while the other menu did not provide calorie information. Also, this study compares the level of hunger of participants to their restaurant menu selection and participant’s BMI status to their restaurant menu selection. This study shows that when calorie information is provided, it does not influence the participants purchasing behavior.

abstract: Providing nutrition information at point of sale at restaurants has gained in popularity in recent years and will soon become a legal requirement. Consumers are using this opportunity to become more informed on the nutritional quality of the foods they consume in an effort to maintain healthfulness. Prior research has confirmed the utility of this information in adult populations. However, research on adolescents in school environments has resulted in mixed findings. This study investigated the effect of exposure to calorie and fat information on student purchases at lunchtime in a high school cafeteria. Additionally, it explored other factors that may contribute to students' food selections during school lunches. The research methods included analysis of changes in cafeteria food sales in one school, surveys, and focus groups. Analysis of cafeteria food sales during lunch did not show any significant change in the average number of calories and fat purchased per student between pre and post intervention. However, information gathered from focus group questioning demonstrated how students used the nutrition information to change their behavior after they have purchased their food. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Administration and Supervision 2013

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Childhood obesity is a major public health issue. Canada has one of the highest childhood obesity rates in the world. Food advertising and marketing have contributed to the rapid rise in childhood obesity. High energy and low nutrient foods have been promoted directly to children through attractive imagery on packages, including the use of popular cartoon characters. Children’s food packaging also features a range of nutrition information targeted at parents, including nutrition claims; however, there is relatively little research on the impact of these nutrition claims and the extent to which they may interact with child-friendly imagery to influence parents’ perception of food quality. The current study used a 2 x 2 experimental design to examine the effect of four front-of-package (FOP) nutrition information and four cartoon characters on parental perceptions of children’s food products. Participants consisted of 897 parents recruited across Canada through GMI, a market research company. Participants were over 18, had at least one child between ages 4-10 and the primary shopper of their household. Participants completed an online survey in July 2011. Participants were shown images of food products with or without cartoon characters and with or without FOP nutrition information and were asked to rate the food product on appeal, nutritional quality, intention to buy and willingness to pay. Participants were also asked to rate the FOP nutrition information on believability, ease of understanding and perceived effectiveness. Linear mixed modelling examined the influence of cartoon characters, FOP nutrition information and socio-demographic factors on these outcomes. Results indicated that cartoon characters increased product appeal and FOP nutrition information increased the perceived nutritional quality of food products with low nutritional value. No significant differences were observed for intention to buy or willingness to pay. There was no consistent pattern between socio-demographic factors and product rating outcomes. For FOP nutrition information ratings, Health Check and Source of Fibre were rated more believable, easier to understand and more effective overall than Sensible Solution and Given the Thumbs Up by Kids. Overall, the findings indicate that cartoon characters can increase the perceived appeal and FOP nutrition information can increase the perceived nutritional quality of food products with low nutritional value.

Childhood obesity is a major public health issue. Canada has one of the highest childhood obesity rates in the world. Food advertising and marketing have contributed to the rapid rise in childhood obesity. High energy and low nutrient foods have been promoted directly to children through attractive imagery on packages, including the use of popular cartoon characters. Children’s food packaging also features a range of nutrition information targeted at parents, including nutrition claims; however, there is relatively little research on the impact of these nutrition claims and the extent to which they may interact with child-friendly imagery to influence parents’ perception of food quality. The current study used a 2 x 2 experimental design to examine the effect of four front-of-package (FOP) nutrition information and four cartoon characters on parental perceptions of children’s food products. Participants consisted of 897 parents recruited across Canada through GMI, a market research company. Participants were over 18, had at least one child between ages 4-10 and the primary shopper of their household. Participants completed an online survey in July 2011. Participants were shown images of food products with or without cartoon characters and with or without FOP nutrition information and were asked to rate the food product on appeal, nutritional quality, intention to buy and willingness to pay. Participants were also asked to rate the FOP nutrition information on believability, ease of understanding and perceived effectiveness. Linear mixed modelling examined the influence of cartoon characters, FOP nutrition information and socio-demographic factors on these outcomes. Results indicated that cartoon characters increased product appeal and FOP nutrition information increased the perceived nutritional quality of food products with low nutritional value. No significant differences were observed for intention to buy or willingness to pay. There was no consistent pattern between socio-demographic factors and product rating outcomes. For FOP nutrition information ratings, Health Check and Source of Fibre were rated more believable, easier to understand and more effective overall than Sensible Solution and Given the Thumbs Up by Kids. Overall, the findings indicate that cartoon characters can increase the perceived appeal and FOP nutrition information can increase the perceived nutritional quality of food products with low nutritional value.

To help combat the growing obesity problem in the United States, the Menu Labeling Act was passed in 2010 as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. However, little research has been conducted to determine the optimal format and content of the imminent label. A between-subjects experiment was conducted with a non-probability sample that was provided with three nutrition label treatments and surveyed to determine the labels’ effect on accuracy in dietary judgments and nutrition evaluations, level of certainty and confusion while completing those tasks, and perceived label comprehension and utility. The presence of a label had a positive relationship with all the dependent measures, while the addition of percent daily values to the label had a nonsignificant increase in accuracy but a negative effect on confusion and comprehension.

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