Information based food policy: is nutritional label the right instrument for everyone?

Individuals’ time preference is an important driver for several health-related behaviors, but there is still lack of knowledge about its relationship with specific food-related behaviors. In this paper we investigate if time preference may have a role in affecting consumers’ use of food label. The data were collected through a face-to-face survey on a sample of 540 Italian consumers. Time preference was estimated through an index including BMI, smoking behavior and physical activity. The analysis was made estimating a set of three equations. The results confirm our hypothesis that individuals with low time preference, who give more importance to future health outcomes, are more willing to use such information.