Effectiveness of Displaying Traffic Light Food Labels on the Front of Food Packages in Japanese University Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Nobuyuki Wakui (), Raini Matsuoka, Chikako Togawa, Kotoha Ichikawa, Hinako Kagi, Mai Watanabe, Nobutomo Ikarashi, Miho Yamamura, Shunsuke Shirozu and Yoshiaki Machida
Additional contact information
Nobuyuki Wakui: Division of Applied Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hoshi University, 2-4-41 Ebara, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8501, Japan
Raini Matsuoka: Division of Applied Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hoshi University, 2-4-41 Ebara, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8501, Japan
Chikako Togawa: Division of Applied Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hoshi University, 2-4-41 Ebara, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8501, Japan
Kotoha Ichikawa: Division of Applied Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hoshi University, 2-4-41 Ebara, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8501, Japan
Hinako Kagi: Division of Applied Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hoshi University, 2-4-41 Ebara, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8501, Japan
Mai Watanabe: Division of Applied Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hoshi University, 2-4-41 Ebara, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8501, Japan
Nobutomo Ikarashi: Department of Biomolecular Pharmacology, Hoshi University, 2-4-41 Ebara, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8501, Japan
Miho Yamamura: Division of Applied Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hoshi University, 2-4-41 Ebara, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8501, Japan
Shunsuke Shirozu: Division of Applied Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hoshi University, 2-4-41 Ebara, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8501, Japan
Yoshiaki Machida: Division of Applied Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hoshi University, 2-4-41 Ebara, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8501, Japan

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 3, 1-11

Abstract: Nutrition labeling on the front of food packages has been implemented worldwide to help improve public health awareness. In this randomized double-blind controlled trial, we used a Google Forms questionnaire to evaluate the effectiveness of nutrition labeling on food packages in university students. The questionnaire, ultimately completed by 247 students, included 15 dietary images from which they were asked to choose what they wanted to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner the following day. For the interventional (traffic light food [TLF]) group only, TLF labels were displayed on dietary images. This group had a significantly higher proportion of people conscious of healthy eating during all meals than the control group, and the effect of TLF labeling on choosing meals was the highest for lunch. In addition to the indicated nutritional components, the TLF group had a significantly higher proportion of people who were conscious of the ones of protein and dietary fiber that were not indicated on the label. The use of TLF labels resulted in an increase in the proportion of people choosing a healthy diet as well as being conscious of their nutritional components. Therefore, the use of TLF labels may help promote healthy dietary choices in Japan.

Keywords: food labels; food packaging; healthy eating; nutrition; traffic light food labels (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/3/1806/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/3/1806/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:3:p:1806-:d:1040445

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().