Derby, Brenda M. (author / Food and Drug Administration, Washington, DC)
Format:
Conference paper
Publication Date:
1994
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 97 Document Number: C07907
Notes:
James F. Evans Collection, Ham, Mimeographed, 1994. 1 p. Presented at the Society for Nutrition Education, Portland, OR, July 16-20, 1994., A telephone survey of a national sample of American consumers is being conducted in the spring of 1994 to provide baseline data on food label use and to provide insights into consumer use and understanding of labels. Results will guide education initiatives to help consumers use the new food label to achieve healthier diets. The survey examines overall label use, specific purposes for using the label, and use and understanding of critical label information, including serving size, nutrient claims and health claims. Current label use will be examined in terms of key demographic and dietary management characteristics (e.g., gender, education, health status). Major implications of the findings for food label education will be presented.
Allen, Amy M. (author) and Freimuth, Vicki (author)
Format:
Conference paper
Publication Date:
1994
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 97 Document Number: C07901
Notes:
James F. Evans Collection, Ham, Mimeographed, 1994. 1 p. Presented at the Society for Nutrition Education, Portland, OR, July 16-20, 1994., A content analysis was conducted to evaluate the coverage of the new food labels in the print media during the period of December 1, 1992 to August 30, 1993. Articles were obtained using the Lexis/Nexis newspaper index and six health and general topics magazine databases. A total of 59 newspaper articles, 11 magazine articles and 7 health newsletter articles were identified through the databases. These articles were evaluated by four trained coders using a pretested coding form that addressed 35 aspects of the food label coverage. Twenty percent of articles were double coded with at least 80% coder reliability. Analysis of the data indicates that magazines and health letters covered the topic in more detail than newspapers. Less than 20% of newspapers named and defined the "percent daily value" term, whereas 86% of health newsletters and 64% of magazines provided this information. This is significant because the term is not self explanatory and may be misunderstood by consumers. analysis of individuals quoted in the articles indicates that government and industry officials represented over half of those quoted. In contrast, college and university faculty were quoted in 9% of articles and dietitians were quoted in 10% of articles. Several errors were identified by the coders and are outlined in the study.
Achterberg, Cheryl (author), McCullum, Christine (author), and Penn State Nutrition Center, Penn State University, University Park, PA
Format:
Conference paper
Publication Date:
1994
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 97 Document Number: C07906
Notes:
James F. Evans Collection, Ham, Mimeographed, 1994. 1 p. Presented at the Society for Nutrition Education, Portland, OR, July 16-20, 1994., Because of the increase in one-parent households and the percent of households that contain two working parents,the number fo teenagers that are doing the family food shopping is also increasing. Whether adolescents read and/or understand food labels while shopping is not known. The purpose of this study was to explore food shopping and label use behavior among adolescents at point-of-purchase. The study group consisted of ninety high school-aged adolescents (n=41 males; n=49 females) stratified by shopping experience (n=44 shoppers; n=46 nonshoppers). Participants were given a list of 20 generic food items to select in an actual grocery store setting. An open-ended questionnaire was administered after shopping to determine the reasons given for each food item selection and to evaluate the use of nutrition information for these items. Scores were computed for total number of times reasons were given to select foods. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate the use of shopping strategies and nutrition information. Two tailed t-tests were used for group comparisons. The reasons reported most often for selecting foods were: personal preference/taste, custom/habit, and price/cost. Overall, participants were five times more likely to use front label/nutrition claims than nutrient labels for nutrition information. Fat free/low fat, lite/light, and cholesterol free/low cholesterol were the most commonly used claims. Total fat and calories were the most commonly used constituents on nutrient labels. In terms of reasons given for food item selection, females were significantly more likely than males to use front label/nutrition claims (p<0.001) and nutrient labels (p<0.01); shoppers were significantly more likely than nonshoppers to use nutrient labels (p<0.01). Further research that incorporates adolescents from different backgrounds is needed to understand how young consumers use labels at point-of-purchase. Results should be used to develop nutrition education that teaches food shopping and label reading skills.
Finlay, Karen (author), O'Brien, Carolyn (author), Woolcott, Donna (author), and Division of Applied Human Nutrition, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Format:
Conference paper
Publication Date:
1994
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 97 Document Number: C07902
Notes:
James F. Evans Collection, Ham, Mimeographed, 1994. 1 p. Presented at the Society for Nutrition Education, Portland, OR, July 16-20, 1994., Stages of change theory framed this study of grocery shoppers (n=65 adults, 18-44 yr) which categorized them according to intentions to use nutrition labels in food purchase decisions. A scale and scoring algorithm were developed using Prochaska and Diclemente's framework. Respondents were categorized into four stages of behavior change. Results indicated that the majority of respondents (55%) were in maintenance stage, 25% were in action stage, 6& in contemplation stage and 14% in precontemplation stage. Respondents were also asked to rate the Canadian government Guide to Nutrition Labelling. Differences in the rating of perceived value of the Guide were observed between the action and maintenance stage respondents for the overall usefulness of the Guide in assisting them "to make wise food choices". The action stage respondents rate the Guide 2.80 (on a 9 point scale) on this attribute and the maintenance groups rated it higher (p<.01) at a mean of 6.5. The action group's mean rating of 4.80 for "how easy it was to understand the information" in the Guide differed (p<.05) from the rating of the maintenance group (7.2). Similarly, in response to the question: "how well do you understand the definitions of nutrition terms in this Guide?", the action group rated their understanding fo the definitions (5.0) lower (p<.05) than the maintenance group (7.55) and lower than the precontemplation group (7.2). Although small sample sizes limit interpretation, it appears that different interventions may be needed for people at different stages of change.
Brunt, Ardith (author), Schafer, Elisabeth (author), and Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Iowa State University
Format:
Conference paper
Publication Date:
1994
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 97 Document Number: C07899
Notes:
James F. Evans Collection, Ham, Mimeographed, 1994. 1 p. Presented at the Society for Nutrition Education, Portland, OR, July 16-20, 1994., Most nutrition information is written above the 10th grade level. Because the reading level of at least 50% of the U.S. population is at the 6th grade level and below, a brochure was developed to help these individuals understand and use the Nutrition Facts food label. This single topic brochure was designed for distribution anywhere general nutritional materials are available, especially the grocery store. The tri-fold pamphlet introduces the Nutrition Facts label to individuals with reading skills at the 6th grade level with emphasis on the relationship between serving size and fat. This brochure received formative evaluation from a pilot test group of low literacy clients. The brochure was then redesigned following their suggestions. The final brochure is tri-fold, with color photographs and 6.1 FOG reading level. Summative evaluation of client skill development is in progress. A second brochure is now under development to help clients understand the % daily value on food labels.
Wightman, Norma (author / University of California Cooperative Extension, San Luis Obispo, CA)
Format:
Conference paper
Publication Date:
1994
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 97 Document Number: C07900
Notes:
James F. Evans Collection, Ham, Mimeographed, 1994. 1 p. Presented at the Society for Nutrition Education, Portland, OR, July 16-20, 1994., A 10-hour training program was designed to teach volunteers to deliver short programs that demonstrate using the new nutrition label to select lower fat and/or low sodium foods. Volunteers contracted to "pay back" 10 hours of community service. In cooperation with the local Area Agency on Aging Nutrition Program, volunteers delivered 20-minute interactive programs at nutrition sites to nearly 400 seniors. Post-tests showed a majority of seniors could recognize the new nutrition facts label compared with the old nutrition label after the brief presentations. Information on sodium content was most frequently sought on nutrition labels by this audience. A survey of the volunteer extenders showed high job satisfaction and a feeling of contributing valuable information to the community. It was recommended that in addition to teaching experience, volunteers be required to have at least one college-level course in nutrition. Refinements in the training curriculum were also recommended and are being piloted on a second group of volunteers.
