Warning Labels Linked to Reduction in SSB Purchases

A new study suggests that warning labels on sugar-sweetened beverages
(SSBs) could dissuade parents from purchasing these products for
children. Christina A. Roberto, et al., “The Influence of Sugar-Sweetened
Beverage Health Warning Labels on Parents’ Choices,” Pediatrics,
February 2016. Based on research involving tobacco warning labels,
the study aimed to determine if SSB warning labels could (i) educate
consumers about potential “health harms” “above and beyond” existing
calorie declarations; (ii) “influence parents’ intentions to buy SSBs for
their children”; and (iii) “influence parents’ perceptions and intentions
toward nonlabeled beverages.” It also evaluated warning label phrasing
and “parents’ beliefs about proposals to put warning labels on SSBs.”

Surveying 2,381 primary caregivers of children ages 6 to 11, researchers
randomly assigned parents to one of six conditions: “(1) no warning label
(control); (2) calorie label; or (3–6) 1 of 4 text versions of a warning label
(eg, Safety Warning: Drinking beverages with added sugar[s] contributes
to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay).” Parents then “selected a beverage
for their child in a vending machine task, rated perceptions of different
beverages, and indicated interest in receiving beverage coupons.”

The results evidently showed that “significantly fewer parents chose
an SSB for their child in the warning label condition (40%) versus the
no label (60%) and calorie label conditions (53%).” Participants in the
warning label group “also chose significantly fewer SSB coupons, believed
that SSBs were less healthy for their child, and were less likely to intend
to purchase SSBs.”

Issue 590