4 Discussions
4.1 Summary
Brief exposure to a picture-based educational nutrition booklet can increase duration
of gazing at nutrition labels. Participants who reviewed the educational nutrition
booklet for 10 min gazed significantly longer at the nutrition label during the posttest
than the pretest. The NE group also gazed significantly longer at the nutrition label
during the posttest than the control group.
Nutrition label reading is difficult and complex. Consumer education is needed in
order to make more informed and healthier food decisions (Rothman et al. 2006;
Goldberg et al. 1999). However, it would be more effective to simplify nutrition label
reading for consumers. This study shows that use of picture-based labels, such as
“thumbs up” along with the traditional nutrition label, may help adults make more
informed and healthier food choices.
Consumers process visual and verbal information differently, and there is no clear
theoretical formulation of the combined influence of visual and verbal information on
information processing (Wyer et al. 2008). However, using a combination of visual and
verbal information on product packaging may improve the consumers' ability to process
the nutritional information and thus improve their dietary decision. Picture-based
nutrition education booklets may be a cost-efficient way to provide nutrition education.
A picture-based educational nutrition booklet may help to promote the use of nutrition
labels in order to make a more informed health decision in purchasing and consuming
food products.