1. Effects of front-of-package caffeine and sweetener disclaimers in Mexico: cross-sectional results from the 2020 International Food Policy Study
- Author
-
Laura Patricia Arellano-Gómez, Alejandra Jáuregui, Claudia Nieto, Alejandra Contreras-Manzano, Kathia Larissa Quevedo, Christine M White, James F Thrasher, Rachel E Davis, David Hammond, and Simón Barquera
- Subjects
Warning labelling ,Sugar-sweetened beverages ,Healthfulness perception ,Caffeine ,Non-sugary sweeteners ,Public aspects of medicine ,RA1-1270 ,Nutritional diseases. Deficiency diseases ,RC620-627 - Abstract
Abstract Objective: Front-of-package warning labels introduced in Mexico in 2020 included disclaimers that caution against allowing children to consume products with non-sugary sweeteners and caffeine. We examined the awareness and use of the disclaimers among Mexican adults and youth 1 month after the regulation was implemented. We also investigated their impact on the perceived healthfulness of industrialised beverages designed for children. Design: Data on the awareness and use of the disclaimers were analysed. Two between-subjects experiments examined the effect of a sweetener disclaimer (Experiment 1, youth and adults) or a caffeine disclaimer (Experiment 2, only adults) on the perceived healthfulness of industrialised beverages. Interactions between experimental conditions and demographic characteristics were tested. Setting: Online survey in 2020. Participants: Mexican adults (≥18 years, n 2108) and youth (10–17 years, n 1790). Results: Most participants (>80 %) had seen the disclaimers at least rarely, and over 60 % used them sometimes or frequently. The sweetener disclaimer led to a lower perceived healthfulness of a fruit drink (adults: 2·74 ± 1·44; youth: 2·04 ± 0·96) compared with the no-disclaimer condition (adults: 3·17 ± 1·54; youth: 2·32 ± 0·96) (t’s: >4·0, P values:
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF