Health prevention messages on sugar are ineffective on consumers, even on a diet, according to the results of a study published in the medical journal The Journal of the association for consumer research. In fact, the desired effect would be opposite to that sought since they would even push them to eat more.
Researchers at the University of Arizona (USA) compared the effects of nutritional information messages on sugar consumption to understand which were the most effective. They submitted three groups of people to three types of messages on sugar, positive, negative or neutral. Volunteers who saw the warnings reported having positive thoughts about the sugary snacks.
In a second experiment, researchers observed the same phenomenon with diet participants. During a third experiment, scientists observed that the most reasonable people about sugar were those who received a non-guilt-free message about the food.
“Messages that demonize sugary food have a perverse effect on dieters and tend to encourage them to eat more of it. On the contrary, we notice that associating positive ideas with a prevention message gives much more encouraging results, ”explains Naomi Mandel, professor of marketing at the University of Arizona.
Sugar, to be consumed in moderation
In March 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended a significant reduction in the amounts of sugar that we consume every day. She wanted adults and children to reduce their sugar intake to 10% of their daily energy intake. These recommendations seem too high for the National Health Service (NHS) and Public Health England who have published a new report that recommends consuming no more than 5% of the daily calorie intake for added sugars.
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