Oral Presentation ESA-SRB-ANZOS 2025 in conjunction with ENSA

Countering sweet deception: the impact of added sugar warning labels on parental perceptions and purchasing preferences for commercial infant and toddler foods. (128350)

Helen Dixon 1 2 , Mamaru Awoke 1 , Maree Scully 1 , Jennifer McCann 3 , Alison McAleese 4 , Ashleigh Haynes 1 2 , Lindsey Taillie 5 , Jane Martin 6 , Mihiri Silva 7 8 9 , Anthea Rhodes 7 10 , Helen Skouteris 11 , Andrea Schmidtke 6 , Bridget Kelly 12
  1. Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne , VIC, Australia
  2. School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne , VIC, Australia
  3. Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Melbourne , VIC, Australia
  4. Prevention Division, Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne , VIC, Australia
  5. Carolina Population Center and Department of Nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina , USA
  6. Food for Health Alliance, Melbourne , VIC, Australia
  7. The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne , VIC, Australia
  8. Inflammatory origins, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Parkville, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  9. Melbourne Dental School, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  10. Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  11. School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  12. Early Start, School of Health and Society, Faculty of the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Wollongong, Northfields Avenue, Wollongong, NSW, Australia

Background: Many commercial infant and toddler foods (CITFs) contain added sugars, which contribute to tooth decay, unhealthy weight gain, and lifelong chronic disease risk. CITFs are often marketed as healthy, nurturing and convenient. Displaying front-of-pack Added Sugar Warning Labels (ASWLs) on CITFs with added sugar could help counter misleading marketing and raise awareness of potential product harms.

Aims: Test whether mandatory Added Sugar Warning Labels (ASWLs) prompt parents to select CITFs without added sugar for their infant/toddler to consume.

Methods: In a naturalistic, between-subjects experiment, 533 Australian parents were assigned to an infant or toddler food study arm, then randomly allocated to a warning label condition: no ASWL (control) or ASWL. Within each of three product categories, parents were shown four CITFs (two with added sugars, two without) – with ASWLs displayed accordingly. Analyses examined effects of ASWLs on perceived added and total sugar content, perceived healthiness, purchase intentions and purchasing choices

Findings: Compared to the control condition, ASWLs significantly decreased perceived healthiness of CITFs containing added sugar (M: 3.3 vs. 2.9), increased perceived total sugar content (M = 4.3 vs. 4.9), and increased the likelihood of parents identifying that these products contained added sugar (61% vs. 89%). ASWLs also significantly reduced parents' likelihood of choosing

Conclusions: Displaying ASWLs on CITFs with added sugar increased awareness of total sugar content and the presence of added sugars, and reduced perceptions of product healthiness, curbing parents’ preferences and purchasing intentions for CITFs with added sugar. Findings indicate that warning labels offer a promising strategy for discouraging parents from purchasing CITFs with added sugar and reorienting them towards choosing options without added sugar for their children.