Cigarette-style warnings mooted for food packaging
Brief exposure to graphic food product health warnings may enhance dietary self-control. That’s what University of Melbourne scientist Stefan Bode has theorised in a new study, which looks at the effectiveness of graphic warnings (similar to those you’d find on cigarettes) on unhealthy or ‘‘treat’’ food such as chips, chocolate bars, and biscuits, and healthy food like fruits and vegetables.
In showing graphic warnings (such as pictures of unhealthy hearts) with accompanying text, the researchers discovered that the brain activity of people looking at the products was more likely to indicate that they would exercise self-control and make the healthier food choices.
The New Zealand Dental Association (NZDA) also supports cigarette-style graphic warnings. Researchers recently used a model that saw a 20 per cent drop in purchases of drinks bearing a picture of rotten teeth.
Sarah Hanrahan, dietitian and chief executive of the New Zealand Nutrition Foundation, has mixed views on the idea of implementing graphic messaging on supermarket food.
‘‘Food is a lot different from cigarettes,’’ she says. ‘‘There’s a way to enjoy treat food without it being harmful, as long as they really are an occasional treat.’’
Bode’s research, he admits, is done in a laboratory setting rather than real life and he says ‘‘there is no recommendation attached to our findings – we just report what we have found to have an effect in our study’’.
Putting graphic health warnings on unhealthy foods would be antiquated, Hanrahan believes. ‘‘It’s a draconian view because people who are buying these foods know what they’re buying. They struggle not to make good choices, but because they’re on tight budgets.’’
The New Zealand Food and