title: Influence of Interpretation Aids on Attentional Capture, Visual Processing, and Understanding of Front-of-Package Nutrition Labels.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the influence of 2 interpretational aids of front-of-package (FOP) nutrition labels (color code and text descriptors) on attentional capture and consumers' understanding of nutritional information.
  
  
  METHODS
  A full factorial design was used to assess the influence of color code and text descriptors using visual search and eye tracking.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ten trained assessors participated in the visual search study and 54 consumers completed the eye-tracking study.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the visual search study, assessors were asked to indicate whether there was a label high in fat within sets of mayonnaise labels with different FOP labels. In the eye-tracking study, assessors answered a set of questions about the nutritional content of labels.
  
  
  METHODS
  The researchers used logistic regression to evaluate the influence of interpretational aids of FOP nutrition labels on the percentage of correct answers. Analyses of variance were used to evaluate the influence of the studied variables on attentional measures and participants' response times.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Response times were significantly higher for monochromatic FOP labels compared with color-coded ones (3,225 vs 964 ms; P < .001), which suggests that color codes increase attentional capture. The highest number and duration of fixations and visits were recorded on labels that did not include color codes or text descriptors (P < .05). The lowest percentage of incorrect answers was observed when the nutrient level was indicated using color code and text descriptors (P < .05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The combination of color codes and text descriptors seems to be the most effective alternative to increase attentional capture and understanding of nutritional information.
authors: Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República (UdelaR), Montevideo, Uruguay. Electronic address: lantunez@fq.edu.uy.
authors: Lucía
authors: L
authors: Antúnez
authors: Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República (UdelaR), Montevideo, Uruguay; Centro de Investigación Básica en Psicología (CIBPsi), Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República (UdelaR), Montevideo, Uruguay.
authors: Ana
authors: A
authors: Giménez
authors: Centro de Investigación Básica en Psicología (CIBPsi), Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República (UdelaR), Montevideo, Uruguay.
authors: Alejandro
authors: A
authors: Maiche
authors: Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República (UdelaR), Montevideo, Uruguay; Centro de Investigación Básica en Psicología (CIBPsi), Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República (UdelaR), Montevideo, Uruguay.
authors: Gastón
authors: G
authors: Ares
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D032882:Comprehension / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005515:Food Labeling / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: attention; eye tracking; nutrition label; traffic light system; visual search