Attention to Physical Activity–Equivalent Calorie Information on Nutrition Facts Labels: An Eye-Tracking Investigation

Objective Investigate attention to Nutrition Facts Labels (NFLs) with numeric only vs both numeric and activity-equivalent calorie information, and attitudes toward activity-equivalent calories. Design An eye-tracking camera monitored participants’ viewing of NFLs for 64 packaged foods with either standard NFLs or modified NFLs. Participants self-reported demographic information and diet-related attitudes and behaviors. Setting Participants came to the Behavioral Medicine Lab at Colorado State University in spring, 2015. Participants The researchers randomized 234 participants to view NFLs with numeric calorie information only (n = 108) or numeric and activity-equivalent calorie information (n = 126). Main Outcome Measure(s) Attention to and attitudes about activity-equivalent calorie information. Analysis Differences by experimental condition and weight loss intention (overall and within experimental condition) were assessed using t tests and Pearson's chi-square tests of independence. Results Overall, participants viewed numeric calorie information on 20% of NFLs for 249 ms. Participants in the modified NFL condition viewed activity-equivalent information on 17% of NFLs for 231 ms. Most participants indicated that activity-equivalent calorie information would help them decide whether to eat a food (69%) and that they preferred both numeric and activity-equivalent calorie information on NFLs (70%). Conclusions and Implications Participants used activity-equivalent calorie information on NFLs and found this information helpful for making food decisions.