Explaining the effects of a point-of-purchase nutrition-information intervention in university canteens: a structural equation modelling analysis

Abstract

BackgroundThe importance of canteen meals in the diet of many university students makes the provision of simple point-of-purchase (POP) nutrition information in university canteens a potentially effective way to promote healthier diets in an important group of young adults. However, modifications to environments such as the posting of POP nutrition information in canteens may not cause an immediate change in meal choices and nutrient intakes. The present study aimed at understanding the process by which the POP nutrition information achieved its effects on the meal choice and energy intake, and whether the information was more effective in changing the meal choice of subgroups of university canteen customers.MethodsThe POP nutrition-information intervention used a one-group pretest-posttest design. A sample of 224 customers of two university canteens completed the baseline and 6-months follow-up surveys. A multi-group structural equation modelling analysis was used to test mediation effects of individual difference variables (liking, understanding and use of the information, subjective knowledge and attitude) on the energy intake from canteen meals, moderated by the objective nutrition knowledge and motivation to change diet.ResultsSignificant relations were identified between liking of the information and its use on one hand and a positive effect in attitude towards healthy canteen meals on the other hand. Motivation to change diet and sufficient objective nutrition knowledge were required to maintain a recommended energy intake from canteen meals or to lead to a decrease in energy intake. Participants with greater objective nutrition knowledge had a greater understanding of the POP nutrition information which also resulted in a more effective use of the information.ConclusionsThe results suggest that nutrition-information interventions may be more effective when using nutrition information that is generally liked by the target population in combination with an educational intervention to increase objective nutrition knowledge.Trial registrationNCT01249508

Determinants of how individuals choose, eat and waste: Providing common ground to enhance sustainable food consumption out‐of‐home

“…By providing additional information on food, consumers may align their behaviour according to their value‐based interpretation of information, that is, by choosing more healthy food items when nutritional information are provided on restaurant menus (Choi & Zhao, ) or at coffee shops (Costanigro, McCluskey, & Goemans, ). Thereby, a general condition is the understanding of information to consider them in behaviour which has been addressed in different studies on the application of sustainability labels for food products in general and dishes in catering in particular (Grunert, Hieke, & Wills, ; Hoefkens, Pieniak, Van Camp, & Verbeke, ; Pulkkinen, Roininen, Katajajuuri, & Järvinen, ). A second precondition for this alignment has been stated as conformity between personal values and new or additional information.…”

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Fostering Sustainable Nutrition Behavior through Gamification

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Correlates of nutrition label use among college students and young adults: a review

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