Paths to Healthier Eating: Perceptions and Interventions for Success

The length of brand names influences the expectation of healthiness in foods and preference for healthy foods

“…The mean ratings of three positive items (vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber) were combined into a positive nutrient index ( α = 0.875). The three types of perceived “negative nutrients” (fat, sugar, and calories) were adapted from Chandon et al (2022) and Hagen (2021), and the mean ratings of these three items were combined into a negative nutrient index ( α = 0.756). The three items of perceived naturalness (natural, pure, and unprocessed) were adapted from Hagen (2021), and their mean ratings were combined into a “naturalness” index ( α = 0.934).…”

“…Healthy food can be considered good for one's body (Hagen, 2021) and provides greater perceived health benefits than perceived health costs (Gill et al, 2022). Though there is no consensus on what healthy food is, a conceptual framework of healthfulness suggests that healthy food can be understood based on three characteristics: food type, quantity, and balance (Chandon et al, 2022). In the food type, healthy food is generally considered as one having fewer negative nutrients (e.g., sugar, fat, calories), fewer artificial ingredients (e.g., food additives), more positive nutrients (e.g., vitamins, minerals), and more natural ingredients (e.g., organic, wholesome) when compared to unhealthy food.…”

“…In the food type, healthy food is generally considered as one having fewer negative nutrients (e.g., sugar, fat, calories), fewer artificial ingredients (e.g., food additives), more positive nutrients (e.g., vitamins, minerals), and more natural ingredients (e.g., organic, wholesome) when compared to unhealthy food. Among the three characteristics of healthy eating, food type has been identified as the most important and has often been explored in previous research (Chandon et al, 2022; Hagen, 2021; Liu et al, 2019; Motoki et al, 2021). In terms of food quantity, healthy eating involves frequent consumption of larger portions of healthy food or infrequent consumption of smaller portions of unhealthy food (Chandon et al, 2022).…”

“…Among the three characteristics of healthy eating, food type has been identified as the most important and has often been explored in previous research (Chandon et al, 2022; Hagen, 2021; Liu et al, 2019; Motoki et al, 2021). In terms of food quantity, healthy eating involves frequent consumption of larger portions of healthy food or infrequent consumption of smaller portions of unhealthy food (Chandon et al, 2022). Finally, balance in healthy eating suggests eating a balanced diet across different food categories.…”

“…Moreover, Study 2 explored the effect of brand name length on the underlying dimensions of healthy food in terms of negative nutrients (fat, sugar, and calories), positive nutrients (vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber), and the naturalness of food (natural, pure, and unprocessed) (see Chandon et al, 2022). Healthier foods generally contain lower amounts of negative ingredients and higher amounts of positive nutrients and naturalness (compared to unhealthy foods) and these have been shown to influence the perceived healthfulness of foods (Chandon et al, 2022; Sundar et al, 2021). We expect people to associate shorter (vs. longer) food names with more positive nutrients, lesser negative nutrients, and higher naturalness.…”