Effect of health warning labels on motivation towards energy-dense snack foods: Two experimental studies

doi:10.1016/j.appet.2022.106084

. 2022 Aug 1:175:106084.

doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2022.106084. Epub 2022 May 14.

Effect of health warning labels on motivation towards energy-dense snack foods: Two experimental studies

Affiliations

¹ Behaviour and Health Research Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Forvie Site, Robinson Way, CB2 0SR, Cambridge, UK. Electronic address: mv491@medschl.cam.ac.uk.
² Behaviour and Health Research Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Forvie Site, Robinson Way, CB2 0SR, Cambridge, UK.
³ Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group, School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, 12a Priory Road, BS8 1TU, Bristol, UK.
⁴ Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, 5 Tyndall Avenue, BS8 1UD, Bristol, UK.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Douglas House, 18b Trumpington Rd, CB2 8AH, Cambridge, UK.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Douglas House, 18b Trumpington Rd, CB2 8AH, Cambridge, UK; Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Elizabeth House, CB21 5EF, Cambridge, UK; Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science - Metabolic Research Laboratories, Addenbrooke's Hospital, CB2 0QQ, Cambridge, UK.
⁷ Behaviour and Health Research Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Forvie Site, Robinson Way, CB2 0SR, Cambridge, UK; EPPI-Centre, UCL Social Research Institute, University College London, London, UK.
⁸ Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Douglas House, 18b Trumpington Rd, CB2 8AH, Cambridge, UK; Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Elizabeth House, CB21 5EF, Cambridge, UK; Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science - Metabolic Research Laboratories, Addenbrooke's Hospital, CB2 0QQ, Cambridge, UK. Electronic address: pcf22@cam.ac.uk.

PMID: 35580820
PMCID: PMC9194909
DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2022.106084

Effect of health warning labels on motivation towards energy-dense snack foods: Two experimental studies

Minna Ventsel et al. Appetite. 2022.

. 2022 Aug 1:175:106084.

doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2022.106084. Epub 2022 May 14.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Behaviour and Health Research Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Forvie Site, Robinson Way, CB2 0SR, Cambridge, UK. Electronic address: mv491@medschl.cam.ac.uk.
² Behaviour and Health Research Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Forvie Site, Robinson Way, CB2 0SR, Cambridge, UK.
³ Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group, School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, 12a Priory Road, BS8 1TU, Bristol, UK.
⁴ Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, 5 Tyndall Avenue, BS8 1UD, Bristol, UK.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Douglas House, 18b Trumpington Rd, CB2 8AH, Cambridge, UK.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Douglas House, 18b Trumpington Rd, CB2 8AH, Cambridge, UK; Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Elizabeth House, CB21 5EF, Cambridge, UK; Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science - Metabolic Research Laboratories, Addenbrooke's Hospital, CB2 0QQ, Cambridge, UK.
⁷ Behaviour and Health Research Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Forvie Site, Robinson Way, CB2 0SR, Cambridge, UK; EPPI-Centre, UCL Social Research Institute, University College London, London, UK.
⁸ Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Douglas House, 18b Trumpington Rd, CB2 8AH, Cambridge, UK; Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Elizabeth House, CB21 5EF, Cambridge, UK; Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science - Metabolic Research Laboratories, Addenbrooke's Hospital, CB2 0QQ, Cambridge, UK. Electronic address: pcf22@cam.ac.uk.

PMID: 35580820
PMCID: PMC9194909
DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2022.106084

Abstract

Health warning labels (HWLs) show promise in reducing motivation towards energy-dense snack foods. Understanding the underlying mechanisms could optimise their effectiveness. In two experimental studies in general population samples (Study 1 n = 90; Study 2 n = 1382), we compared the effects of HWLs and irrelevant aversive labels (IALs) on implicit (approach) motivation towards unhealthy snacks, using an approach-avoidance task (Study 1), and a manikin task (Study 2). We also assessed explicit motivation towards unhealthy snacks using food selection tasks. We examined whether labelling effects on motivation arose from the creation of outcome-dependent associations between the food and its health consequences or from simple, non-specific aversive associations. Both label types reduced motivation towards snack foods but only when the label was physically present. HWLs and IALs showed similar effects on implicit motivation, although HWLs reduced explicit motivation more than IALs. Thus, aversive HWLs appear to act both through low level associative mechanisms affecting implicit motivation, and by additionally emphasizing explicit causal links to health outcomes thereby affecting explicitly motivated choice behaviours.

Keywords: Approach-avoidance; Choice behavior; Explicit motivation; Implicit motivation; Manikin task; Snack selection.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

**Fig. 1**
Examples of chocolate bars with (a) a HWL and (b) an IAL.

**Fig. 2**
The flow of the steps of Study 1.

**Fig. 3**
The flow of the steps of Study 2.

**Fig. 4**
Study 2: Healthier snack selection between study groups. Error bars are 95% CI. P values are between study groups. Health Warning Label (HWL). Irrelevant Aversive label (IAL).

See this image and copyright information in PMC

Cited by

Calorie (energy) labelling for changing selection and consumption of food or alcohol.
Clarke N, Pechey E, Shemilt I, Pilling M, Roberts NW, Marteau TM, Jebb SA, Hollands GJ. Clarke N, et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2025 Jan 17;1(1):CD014845. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD014845.pub2. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2025. PMID: 39820897
Impact of health warning labels and calorie labels on selection and purchasing of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks: A randomized controlled trial.
Clarke N, Ferrar J, Pechey E, Ventsel M, Pilling MA, Munafò MR, Marteau TM, Hollands GJ. Clarke N, et al. Addiction. 2023 Dec;118(12):2327-2341. doi: 10.1111/add.16288. Epub 2023 Aug 1. Addiction. 2023. PMID: 37528529 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
Is evoking fear effective? Exploratory findings from a randomised experiment on the impacts of health warning labels on sugar-sweetened beverages.
Malik S, Ong Z. Malik S, et al. Public Health Nutr. 2023 Dec 21;27(1):e42. doi: 10.1017/S1368980023002859. Public Health Nutr. 2023. PMID: 38126272 Free PMC article.

References

1. Altman D.G., Bland J.M. How to obtain the P value from a confidence interval. BMJ. 2011;343:d2304. - PubMed
1. Asbridge S.C.M., Pechey E., Marteau T.M., Hollands G.J. Effects of pairing health warning labels with energy-dense snack foods on food choice and attitudes: Online experimental study. Appetite. 2021;160:105090. - PMC - PubMed
1. Brewer N.T., Hall M.G., Noar S.M., Parada H., Stein-Seroussi A., Bach L.E., et al. Effect of pictorial cigarette pack warnings on changes in smoking behavior: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Internal Medicine. 2016;176(7):905–912. - PMC - PubMed
1. Brewer N.T., Parada H., Hall M.G., Boynton M.H., Noar S.M., Ribisl K.M. Understanding why pictorial cigarette pack warnings increase quit attempts. Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 2019;53(3):232–243. - PMC - PubMed
1. Buykx P., Li J., Gavens L., Hooper L., Lovatt M., Gomes de Matos E., et al. Public awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer in England in 2015: A population-based survey. BMC Public Health. 2016;16 1194. - PMC - PubMed

Grants and funding

206853/Z/17/Z/WT_/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

[1] Altman D.G., Bland J.M. How to obtain the P value from a confidence interval. BMJ. 2011;343:d2304. - PubMed

[2] Altman D.G., Bland J.M. How to obtain the P value from a confidence interval. BMJ. 2011;343:d2304. - PubMed

[3] Asbridge S.C.M., Pechey E., Marteau T.M., Hollands G.J. Effects of pairing health warning labels with energy-dense snack foods on food choice and attitudes: Online experimental study. Appetite. 2021;160:105090. - PMC - PubMed

[4] Asbridge S.C.M., Pechey E., Marteau T.M., Hollands G.J. Effects of pairing health warning labels with energy-dense snack foods on food choice and attitudes: Online experimental study. Appetite. 2021;160:105090. - PMC - PubMed

[5] Brewer N.T., Hall M.G., Noar S.M., Parada H., Stein-Seroussi A., Bach L.E., et al. Effect of pictorial cigarette pack warnings on changes in smoking behavior: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Internal Medicine. 2016;176(7):905–912. - PMC - PubMed

[6] Brewer N.T., Hall M.G., Noar S.M., Parada H., Stein-Seroussi A., Bach L.E., et al. Effect of pictorial cigarette pack warnings on changes in smoking behavior: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Internal Medicine. 2016;176(7):905–912. - PMC - PubMed

[7] Brewer N.T., Parada H., Hall M.G., Boynton M.H., Noar S.M., Ribisl K.M. Understanding why pictorial cigarette pack warnings increase quit attempts. Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 2019;53(3):232–243. - PMC - PubMed

[8] Brewer N.T., Parada H., Hall M.G., Boynton M.H., Noar S.M., Ribisl K.M. Understanding why pictorial cigarette pack warnings increase quit attempts. Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 2019;53(3):232–243. - PMC - PubMed

[9] Buykx P., Li J., Gavens L., Hooper L., Lovatt M., Gomes de Matos E., et al. Public awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer in England in 2015: A population-based survey. BMC Public Health. 2016;16 1194. - PMC - PubMed

[10] Buykx P., Li J., Gavens L., Hooper L., Lovatt M., Gomes de Matos E., et al. Public awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer in England in 2015: A population-based survey. BMC Public Health. 2016;16 1194. - PMC - PubMed

Save citation to file

Email citation

Add to Collections

Add to My Bibliography

Your saved search

Create a file for external citation management software

Your RSS Feed

Effect of health warning labels on motivation towards energy-dense snack foods: Two experimental studies

Affiliations

Effect of health warning labels on motivation towards energy-dense snack foods: Two experimental studies

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

Similar articles

Cited by

References

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources