RESULTS Our findings suggest that consumers have a relatively poor underst and ing of a healthy diet .
The literature also demonstrates that there is poor evidence on the health protective effects of single foods or nutrients .
We further show that low SES is the single consistent risk factor for not adhering to a healthy diet .
Our review of the literature on determinants demonstrates that intentions , habits , self-regulatory skills , and the social and physical environment are the most important determinants of a healthy diet , which are in turn amenable to change by intervention strategies with varying levels of effectiveness .
Educational interventions generally show a limited effect on practising a healthy diet whereas interventions targeting habitual behaviour and /or the physical environment seem more promising .
In view of the large number of people who are concerned about their diets and make attempts to change their dietary patterns , we conclude that it is crucial to gain a better underst and ing of both the automatic and environmental influences that are responsible for people not acting upon their good intentions for diet change
OBJECTIVE To discuss healthy diet from a psychological perspective by considering definitions of healthy diet in terms of consumer underst and ing ; the health effects of specific dietary elements in terms of overweight and ( chronic ) illness ; the prevalence of healthy diet ; the psychological and environmental determinants of healthy diet ; and the psychological interventions that have been design ed to promote healthy diet .
Facts up front versus traffic light food labels: a randomized controlled trial.
BACKGROUND The U.S. food and beverage industry recently released a new front-of-package nutrition labeling system called Facts Up Front that will be used on thous and s of food products . PURPOSE To test consumer underst and ing of the Facts Up Front system ( Facts Up Front ) compared to the Multiple Traffic Light system ( Traffic Light ) . Facts Up Front displays grams/milligrams and percentage daily value information for various nutrients ; Traffic Light uses an interpretive color-coded scheme to alert consumers to low , medium , and high levels of certain nutrients . DESIGN Participants in an Internet-based study were r and omized to one of five front-of-package label conditions : ( 1 ) no label ; ( 2 ) Traffic Light ; ( 3 ) Traffic Light plus information about protein and fiber ( Traffic Light+ ) ; ( 4 ) Facts Up Front ; or ( 5 ) Facts Up Front plus information about " nutrients to encourage " ( Facts Up Front+ ) . SETTING / PARTICIPANTS A total of 703 adults recruited through an online data base in May 2011 participated in this study , and data were analyzed in June 2011 . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Total percentage correct quiz scores were generated reflecting participants ' ability to compare two foods on nutrient levels , based on their labels , and to estimate amounts of saturated fat , sugar , sodium , fiber and protein in the foods . RESULTS The front-of-package label groups outperformed the control group on nearly all of the nutrient quizzes ( p<0.05 ) . The control group did not differ from the Facts Up Front group on the saturated fat quiz , or from the Facts Up Front+ group on the sugars quiz . Those in the Traffic Light+ group had the best overall performance ( > 80 % on all quizzes ) . CONCLUSIONS Overall , those in the Traffic Light+ condition performed better than those in the Facts Up Front conditions on measures of nutrition knowledge and label perceptions . TRIAL REGISTRATION This study is registered at clinical trials.gov NCT01626729
RESULTS Our findings suggest that consumers have a relatively poor underst and ing of a healthy diet .
The literature also demonstrates that there is poor evidence on the health protective effects of single foods or nutrients .
We further show that low SES is the single consistent risk factor for not adhering to a healthy diet .
Our review of the literature on determinants demonstrates that intentions , habits , self-regulatory skills , and the social and physical environment are the most important determinants of a healthy diet , which are in turn amenable to change by intervention strategies with varying levels of effectiveness .
Educational interventions generally show a limited effect on practising a healthy diet whereas interventions targeting habitual behaviour and /or the physical environment seem more promising .
In view of the large number of people who are concerned about their diets and make attempts to change their dietary patterns , we conclude that it is crucial to gain a better underst and ing of both the automatic and environmental influences that are responsible for people not acting upon their good intentions for diet change
OBJECTIVE To discuss healthy diet from a psychological perspective by considering definitions of healthy diet in terms of consumer underst and ing ; the health effects of specific dietary elements in terms of overweight and ( chronic ) illness ; the prevalence of healthy diet ; the psychological and environmental determinants of healthy diet ; and the psychological interventions that have been design ed to promote healthy diet .