Food in the news: effects of exposure to information about ultra-processed vs. high in nutrients of concern foods on consumer perceptions and intake

Gough, T, Cummings, JR, Evans, R, Hill, S, Jones, A ORCID: 0000-0001-5951-889X and Robinson, E ORCID: 0000-0003-3586-5533 (2025) Food in the news: effects of exposure to information about ultra-processed vs. high in nutrients of concern foods on consumer perceptions and intake. Appetite, 214. ISSN 0195-6663

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Abstract

Media reporting of the associations between intake of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and negative health outcomes has become common. The objective was to examine the impact of exposure to public facing information about UPFs on consumers in a laboratory experiment. In a mixed-design, we used a methodology that resulted in participants (N = 96: mean age = 46.28, 49 % female) being exposed to one of three mock news articles detailing: (1) the negative health outcomes associated with UPF consumption and its unnatural manufacturing process (UPF article); (2) the negative health outcomes associated with consumption of foods high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS article); or (3) online food shopping trends (control article). Immediately after exposure to the news article, participants were given ad-libitum access to UPFs (which were also HFSS) and non-UPFs (which were also not HFSS). Intake of UPFs and non-UPFs, and ratings of disgust, naturalness, and pleasantness of UPFs and non-UPFs were measured after exposure to articles. Results showed that perception ratings and intake of UPFs and non-UPFs did not reliably differ between conditions. However, participants in the UPF and HFSS conditions reported that the article they were exposed to increased concerns of consuming both UPFs and HFSS foods (relative to the control) and there was some evidence that rated pleasantness of consumed UPF/HFSS foods was reduced. In conclusion, public facing information about UPFs (or HFSS foods) likely affects consumer perceptions and avoidance of UPFs/HFSS foods, but may not impact on immediate food intake.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	4206 Public Health; 32 Biomedical and Clinical Sciences; 3210 Nutrition and Dietetics; 42 Health Sciences; Nutrition; Obesity; 3.3 Nutrition and chemoprevention; Cardiovascular; Cancer; Oral and gastrointestinal; Stroke; Nutrition & Dietetics
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions:	Psychology (from Sep 2019)
Publisher:	Elsevier
Date of acceptance:	2 July 2025
Date of first compliant Open Access:	9 July 2025
Date Deposited:	09 Jul 2025 12:50
Last Modified:	09 Jul 2025 13:00
DOI or ID number:	10.1016/j.appet.2025.108217
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/26746

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