UH Research focuses on how food marketing creates false sense of health

Health-related buzzwords, such as “antioxidant” and “whole grain,” lull consumers into thinking packaged food products labeled as such are healthier than they actually are, according to research at the University of Houston (UH) in the USA. The research also showed that the nutrition facts panels printed on food packaging as required by the FDA do little to counteract that buzzword marketing.
The study also looks at the “priming” psychology behind the words to explain why certain words prompt consumers to assign a health benefit to a food product with unhealthy ingredients. An article about the research is Publisher in Food Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal (News Item UH, 13 June 2014).
Click here for the news item.
Click here for an abstract of the published article.

This item is also included in our monthly overview, the NVC Members-only Update. If you have any questions, please contact us: info@nvc.nl, +31-(0)182-512411.