Guide Adolescent Eyes to Nutrition Information

We hope that as young consumers gain independence to make their own food choices, they select healthy alternatives. Researchers at Queens University Belfast and College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise-Loughry say this hope is too frequently dashed. Of the adolescents whose food choices were analyzed, more than half chose unhealthy items when left on their own, and almost one out of five made a series of choices dieticians would consider to be dangerous to the adolescent’s wellbeing. This occurred even with the adolescents who were knowledgeable about the importance of good nutrition.
     Some of the explanation for this resides in the rebellion and impulsivity of the adolescent mind. Additional explanation for the poor nutritional choices can be found in the difficulty adolescents encounter in spotting the nutritional information required for good choices. A total of 41 dieticians, teachers, and students in the fields of nutrition were asked by researchers at University of Manitoba to come to consensus about the most important competencies young consumers should master for healthy eating as those consumers transition to adulthood. Chief among the competencies the group specified was the ability to compare foods by interpreting labels and packaging. Yet knowing how to use it isn’t enough. Eye tracking studies by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration verify this.
     The FDA researchers asked 60 adult grocery shoppers to wear Tobii Pro eyeglasses which tracked their eye movements as they shopped in a grocery store for snacks, soup, and cereal. The researchers discovered how any interest in finding nutrition information on the package was challenged by the visual busyness of brand logos, product imagery, product claims, displayed prices, and promotional offers either on the product package or on adjacent signage.
     Attention to the nutrition information was higher when many alternatives within the product category included the data in a similar format. This was truer of the cereal category than the snack category. In addition, logos for nutrition grading systems, such as Facts Up Front® and Health Claims drew attention to the Nutrition Facts label.
     What’s true for adults is true for adolescents who are becoming adults. For both these, guide eyes to the nutrition information:

• Favor brands which use a nutrition grading system logo on the package 
• Position packages so that at least one for each alternative has the Nutrition Facts label facing the shopper 
• On signage, say, “Check the Nutrition Facts on the label” 

For your success: Retailer’s Edge: Boost Profits Using Shopper Psychology

Click below for more: 
Convince Kids that Healthy Has Authority
Label Why They Don’t Read the Labels
French Kiss Nutrition Notices Goodbye
Nudge Shoppers Toward Profitable Habits
Use Value Added by Third-Party Certifications