AbstractsMedical & Health Science

Effective use of nutrition information is an important method of preventing or managing diet-related diseases. However, it is difficult to effectively communicate information to those in need when decision making occurs. Methods of simplifying nutrition information exist to help users interpret nutrient content of foods; those which present specific information for individual nutrients and interpret their content with color-coding are the most preferred by users and the most effective with regard to improving user understanding of nutrition information. However, this approach does not lead to changes in consumer behavior when implemented in realistic settings. The goal of this research was to develop a method of presenting nutrient-specific information for multiple nutrients and color-based reference information in a format that is effective at influencing behavior in realistic settings. A secondary goal was to design the method to guide users toward healthful food choices and balanced meal formation rather than emphasize which foods to avoid. We hypothesized that presenting nutrient content of foods graphically relative to a target recommendation would improve the ability of users to process that information under time constraint to improve its usability for decision making. As a first step, a graphical method of presenting nutrition information two-dimensionally was developed within the scope of weight management which plots shows fiber per calorie on the x axis and protein per calorie on the y axis, with a target in the center of the plot representing recommendations for these nutrients. Validity of nutrient selection, criteria, and presentation of the method in achieving its objectives are tested. The method was shown to be able to differentiate beneficial foods to include in the diet from foods whose intake should be limited, visualizing many dietary recommendations such as decreasing intake of discretionary fats and added sugars, choosing lean proteins, low-fat dairy, fruits, vegetables, and whole-grains, and choosing whole fruits over fruit juice. In addition, plotting nutrient content per calorie allows for visualization of how foods combine to form a meal to help users understand nutrient content in a balanced meal context. To determine if presenting nutrition information graphically instead of numerically allows users to more effectively process that information under time constraint, a cued-recall experiment was conducted. University students (n=63) were presented fiber and protein content of foods either numerically or with the graphical method for 15 seconds per food and asked to recall nutrient content after completion of the test via survey. Graphical presentation of information improved recall by up to 43% compared to recall of those shown numeric information, suggesting the graphical method was effective at communicating the desired information in a time constrained situation. To determine if this advantage can lead to changes in consumer food choices in a realistic setting, a cafeteria field…