Stéphane Marette

Abstract

D. Poquet1, E. Ginon2, B. Goubel1, C. Chabanet1, S. Marette3, S. Issanchou1, S. Monnery-Patris1

This paper studies the impact of a nutritional traffic-light (NTL) on snacks choices made by mothers and children in a laboratory in France. Mothers and children chose for themselves and for the other member of the dyad a snack composed of one drink and two foods, selected among several goods that a priori differ regarding the liking criteria and the health value. For the selected snacks, the nutritional quality, the hedonic score, and the budget were compared before and after the revelation of NTL. It is shown that the NTL appearance leads to a significant increase of the nutritional quality, meaning that many mothers and children increase the number of relatively healthy snacks selected for themselves and for the other person. Snacks chosen by children and mothers after the NTL appearance were significantly less appreciated than those chosen before the NTL, suggesting a hedonic cost associated with a change in favor of healthier snacks’ choices. Regarding the budget, chosen snacks were significantly less expensive after the NTL than before the NTL, even if this result is not systematically checked.