Preventing obesity starts in the grocery aisle with food packaging

In 2018, Statistics Canada reported that nearly one in three Canadians was obese. Similar figures have been reported in Australia, but more concerning is the United States, where more than 40% of the population is obese.

Obesity is not the only diet-related illness to be concerned about — diabetes is just as prevalent. When it comes to such diseases, diet and physical activity help reduce the chance of being diagnosed. In fact, when it comes to type 2 diabetes, diet and physical activity can prevent 50% of it.

Food packaging plays an important role in diet-related illnesses. We live in a food environment that prioritizes marketing, sometimes to the detriment of our health.

Consider the average supermarket, which can offer upward of 60,000 different products. With so much competition, food marketers need to grab the attention of consumers so they buy their products, not a competitor’s. This is why product packaging is so important.

Food marketing uses a variety of tactics, such as bright, bold colors and eye-popping visuals, to try to persuade consumers to buy certain products. They also change the size of food images shown on products — the size of the chip on Doritos packaging or the size of the bread on a jar of peanut butter, for example.

Our recent research looked at how something seemingly innocuous, such as the size of food images on product packaging, can impact how likely it is that someone buys a product. Although the size of this image might appear to be harmless, our research found that it can increase the food’s appeal to consumers: The larger the image, the better tasting consumers believe the food will be, which increases the chance of their purchasing the product.

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The reason for this is a concept called mental imagery, which suggests that the way people visualize a product in their minds can make them think a product is better, of higher quality or, in our case, tastier.

This has implications when it comes to food choice. When thinking about what foods are most appealing, junk foods, such as chips, popcorn and candy, come to mind. These kinds of products often have large, exaggerated images of food on their packaging. Because the size of the food image on these products is bigger, it makes consumers psychologically salivate more, persuading them into buying and eating these unhealthier foods.

Ours isn’t the only research that has been done on health habits and food product packaging. Similar research has also found that the color of food packaging and the location of food images on a product also impacts whether or not consumers are more likely to buy a product.

When it comes to colors, red significantly increases a food’s perceived taste, while green increases the food’s perceived healthiness. Food images that are placed higher on the package suggest that the food is “light” and therefore “healthy,” making it more likely for a consumer to purchase the product.

Previous studies have also found that junk food brand names are easily remembered by children, and parents often listen to their children when making food choices. Also, the use of traffic light signals on food labels promotes healthier food choices by allowing people to identify the nutritional content directly on the food package.

Knowing and understanding how appearance impacts food desirability is crucial for marketers and has resulted in a special visual language among consumers and products. This allows, for example, people with diabetes and hypertension to quickly locate foods that are appropriate for their needs in a grocery store. However, it also makes some consumers vulnerable to marketing ploys when they aren’t aware of how advertisers are manipulating them.

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There are some strategies consumers can use when shopping to help maintain healthy habits. Instead of focusing on the images of food on packaging, we recommend that consumers focus more on the nutritional needs and requirements.

Consumers should read the entire nutritional label front and back to try to make the best informed decision possible and try not to be swayed by what the image on a package looks like.

Don’t let the size of the food image tempt you: Some Pringles or gummy bears are fine as a little indulgence, but if you’re tempted by these food products every time you step into your local grocery, it can have serious consequences for your heath.

Food product packaging doesn’t have implications just for consumers, but for policymakers, as well. Most governments, including Canada’s, focus on nutrition labels and how food marketers advertise to consumers of all ages, such as rules limiting junk food ads during Saturday morning cartoons. But regulation should start even more fundamentally with the packaging itself.

Although it might seem extreme to regulate the size of a scoop of ice cream on a box of Chapman’s, food image size is especially relevant when it comes to junk food. If we want to reduce the prevalence of diet-related health issues, such as obesity and diabetes, regulating the size of images, which is what we see first and foremost in the grocery aisle, on food products might just be what’s needed.

Eugene Y. Chan is an associate professor of marketing at Toronto Metropolitan University. Liangyan Wang is a professor at Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

This article is republished from The Conversation.