Effects of different nutrition labels on visual attention and accuracy of nutritional quality perception – Results of an experimental eye-tracking study

Front-of-Pack (FoP) nutrition labels are emerging as a prominent public policy tool for promoting healthy eating. In this study, we question how different FoP nutrition labels ranging from more directive (Nutriscore, NS), to semi-directive (monochromatic Guided Daily Amount, GDA) and non-directive (multiple-traffic lights, MTL), affect perceived visual attention and nutritional quality perception. The visual attention was measured by eye-tracing measures, and nutritional quality by healthiness perception and recommended frequency of consumption. Seventy-six participants (N = 76) were randomly assigned in one of three experimental conditions, where they were asked to give estimates on eight different chocolate snack bars. To test whether participants estimates were accurate, we surveyed fifty-six (N = 56) nutritionists and asked for their assessments of the same group of products. The results showed that Nutriscore required least visual attention in terms of dwell-time, number of fixations, and average fixation duration, followed by MTL and GDA. Participants in NS and MTL condition gave significantly higher estimates of nutritional quality compared to experts' estimates. Most accurate estimates came from products with GDA label. Color-coded fields (MTL) required less visual attention, compared to GDA, without adding to visual efficiency. More directive FoP nutrition labels require less visual attention but lead to inflated estimates of products' nutrition quality in the category of less healthy products. In creating public policies, removing the possibility for consumers to process nutritional information and absolute estimates of products' nutrition quality should not be disregarded.