title: Influence of Label Design on Children's Perception of 2 Snack Foods.
abstract: To evaluate the influence of label design on children's perception of 2 popular snack foods across 3 income levels.
  
  
  
  Labels of 2 snack products (yogurt and sponge cake) were designed using a fractional factorial design with 3 2-level variables: cartoon character, nutrition claims, and front-of-package nutritional information.
  
  
  
  A total of 221 children (aged 9-13 years) from Montevideo, Uruguay, with different income levels, participated in the study.
  
  
  
  Children's attitude toward and liking of 2 food products.
  
  
  
  Low-income children showed a more positive attitude toward the products than did middle- and high-income children. The inclusion of a cartoon character in sponge cake labels significantly affected hedonic expectations regardless of income. Middle- and high-income children tended to use the term funny more frequently and the term boring less frequently to describe labels that included the cartoon character, compared with those that did not.
  
  
  
  Results showed that the inclusion of cartoon characters on food labels is associated with fun. Low-income children seem more susceptible to the marketing strategies of food companies than do middle- and high-income children.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación Básica en Psicología, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay.
authors.forename: Alejandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arrúa
authors.affiliation: Sensometrics and Consumer Science, Instituto Polo Tecnológico de Pando, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Canelones, Uruguay.
authors.forename: Leticia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vidal
authors.affiliation: Sensometrics and Consumer Science, Instituto Polo Tecnológico de Pando, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Canelones, Uruguay.
authors.forename: Lucía
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Antúnez
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación Básica en Psicología, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay.
authors.forename: Leandro
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Machín
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Alimentación, Montevideo, Uruguay.
authors.forename: Joseline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Alimentación, Montevideo, Uruguay.
authors.forename: María Rosa
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Curutchet
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación Básica en Psicología, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay; Sensometrics and Consumer Science, Instituto Polo Tecnológico de Pando, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Canelones, Uruguay.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giménez
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación Básica en Psicología, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay; Sensometrics and Consumer Science, Instituto Polo Tecnológico de Pando, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Canelones, Uruguay. Electronic address: gares@fq.edu.uy.
authors.forename: Gastón
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ares
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005515:Food Labeling / Q000379:methods*; D018857:Food Packaging / Q000379:methods*; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000523:psychology*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009753:Nutritive Value; D062410:Snacks / Q000523:psychology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014583:Uruguay
keywords: front-of-package; income; nutrition labeling; traffic light system