Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Do We Provide Meaningful Guidance For Healthy Eating? An Investigation Into Consumers' Interpretation Of Frequency Consumption Terms, Lesley King, Wendy L. Watson, Kathy Chapman, Bridget Kelly, Jimmy Chun Yu Louie, Clare Hughes, Jennifer Crawford, Timothy P. Gill

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

OBJECTIVE: To investigate consumers' understanding of terms commonly used to provide guidance about frequency and quantity of food consumption. METHODS: A survey of 405 shoppers explored how frequently consumers thought food labeled with the terms "eat often," "eat moderately," "eat occasionally," "a sometimes food," and "an extra food" should be eaten. In a separate phase, 30 grocery buyers responded to open-ended questions about their interpretation of these terms. RESULTS: Responses indicated significant differences in meaning between the terms. However, the specific interpretation of each term varied considerably across respondents. The qualitative research found the terms to be highly subjective, and …