Food label granularity and working memory: effects on food choice in a randomized controlled trial.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

While prior research on front-of-package labels has focused on their design, the impact of their informational granularity-or level of detail-on consumer choice remains understudied. This study aimed to investigate how the informational granularity of food calorie labels, in conjunction with consumers' working-memory capacity, influences choice behavior.

Methods

A randomized controlled trial was conducted (UK adults, N = 498) in which participants completed a cereal-shopping task after being assigned to one of three conditions: coarse label, detailed label, or no label. Working-memory capacity was evaluated via a three-level n-back test. The primary outcomes measured were the average number of calories per chosen product and the probability of selecting low-calorie

SUBMITTER: Avalos C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12553146 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature