Background
Design and methodology
Sampling and data collection
UK | Sweden | France | Germany | Poland | Hungary | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% in-store | % in-home | % in-store | % in-home | % in-store | % in-home | % in-store | % in-home | % in-store | % in-home | % in-store | % in-home | ||
Gender | Male | 25.9 | 19.0 | 40.9 | 37.8 | 23.6 | 17.6 | 40.1 | 35.2 | 30.0 | 29.9 | 31.5 | 26.7 |
Female | 74.1 | 81.0 | 59.1 | 62.2 | 76.4 | 82.4 | 59.9 | 64.8 | 70.0 | 70.1 | 68.5 | 73.3 | |
Social grade | Managerial and professional | 22.7 | 22.9 | 49.6 | 51.0 | 17.7 | 18.5 | 38.0 | 41.6 | 35.1 | 34.0 | 25.3 | 23.6 |
Intermediate, small employers | 36.5 | 36.7 | 24.7 | 24.5 | 42.8 | 45.4 | 26.5 | 29.2 | 25.3 | 24.0 | 22.1 | 21.8 | |
Lower supervisory and technical | 18.6 | 18.0 | 12.6 | 11.9 | 15.0 | 13.5 | 19.9 | 16.4 | 11.9 | 12.2 | 23.3 | 22.0 | |
Semi-routine and routine | 22.3 | 22.4 | 13.1 | 12.7 | 24.5 | 22.6 | 15.5 | 12.9 | 27.7 | 29.9 | 29.4 | 31.6 | |
Parents with children <16 years | Yes | 36.7 | 37.1 | 36.1 | 36.1 | 43.3 | 41.8 | 26.5 | 27.0 | 38.3 | 37.9 | 38.4 | 36.1 |
No | 63.3 | 62.0 | 63.9 | 63.9 | 56.7 | 58.2 | 73.5 | 73.0 | 61.7 | 62.1 | 61.6 | 63.9 | |
Age | −34 | 26.1 | 22.7 | 28.1 | 23.2 | 30.3 | 30.9 | 36.9 | 31.7 | 52.4 | 52.0 | 46.5 | 40.8 |
35–44 | 24.1 | 25.0 | 21.7 | 22.6 | 24.4 | 26.2 | 19.1 | 20.1 | 18.9 | 18.8 | 24.4 | 24.8 | |
45–54 | 22.2 | 24.4 | 20.9 | 22.4 | 22.0 | 21.7 | 16.1 | 16.9 | 14.9 | 15.1 | 16.0 | 19.1 | |
55–64 | 14.9 | 15.4 | 16.2 | 17.6 | 12.8 | 12.0 | 12.7 | 14.8 | 10.4 | 10.2 | 9.8 | 11.2 | |
65+ | 12.7 | 12.4 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 10.5 | 9.2 | 15.2 | 16.4 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 4.1 | |
Total | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | |
Total, n
| 2,019 | 921 | 1,858 | 1,201 | 2,337 | 833 | 1,963 | 815 | 1,800 | 1,494 | 1,804 | 703 |
In-store observation
In-store interview
In-home questionnaire
Results
Use of nutrition information in the store
UK | Sweden | France | Germany | Poland | Hungary | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ready meals | 28.3 | 11.3 | 15.7 | 16.1 | 10.4 | 15.8 | 16.7 |
Carbonated soft drinks | 23.3 | 4.9 | 7.0 | 19.1 | 10.8 | 15.4 | 12.9 |
Yoghurt | 37.8 | 21.1 | 12.1 | 30.6 | 15.8 | 25.3 | 23.5 |
Breakfast cereal | 34.4 | 24.1 | 13.0 | 25.5 | 24.2 | 27.4 | 24.5 |
Confectionary | 15.8 | 8.1 | 2.9 | 15.1 | 12.1 | 13.3 | 11.0 |
Salty snacks | 22.0 | 10.2 | 3.6 | 11.6 | 9.2 | 15.9 | 11.8 |
All product categories | 27.0 | 13.5 | 8.8 | 19.7 | 13.8 | 18.8 | 16.8 |
UK | Sweden | France | Germany | Poland | Hungary | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Calories | 32.7 | 17.5 | 46.6 | 49.0 | 65.7 | 33.4 | 39.6 |
Fat | 49.3 | 45.0 | 33.3 | 49.2 | 36.7 | 5.1 | 38.0 |
Sugar | 34.9 | 45.0 | 37.3 | 42.7 | 31.4 | 13.1 | 33.8 |
Food additives/colours/preservatives/E-numbers | 10.1 | 7.2 | 11.8 | 9.3 | 31.8 | 13.4 | 13.0 |
Carbohydrates | 5.0 | 10.0 | 8.8 | 20.7 | 18.0 | 14.0 | 12.3 |
Sodium/salt | 20.0 | 3.2 | 7.4 | 4.7 | 9.8 | 0.9 | 9.0 |
Vitamins | 2.6 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 7.5 | 26.5 | 5.4 | 7.2 |
Protein | 2.6 | 6.8 | 6.9 | 8.5 | 6.1 | 6.0 | 5.8 |
Saturated fat | 11.2 | 6.0 | 4.4 | 2.6 | 5.3 | 0.9 | 5.6 |
Fibre | 4.0 | 8.8 | 4.9 | 3.9 | 16.3 | 0.3 | 5.6 |
Other | 21.3 | 26.3 | 11.3 | 42.2 | 45.7 | 6.0 | 25.4 |
UK | Sweden | France | Germany | Poland | Hungary | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GDA | 40.5 | 10.2 | 39.1 | 38.6 | 15.9 | 11.7 | 29.2 |
Traffic lights | 8.4 | 0 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.8 |
Health logo | 3.7 | 1.0 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 8.2 | 12.3 | 5.1 |
Specific claim | 7.9 | 13.7 | 4.7 | 1.6 | 4.8 | 0.6 | 5.7 |
Nutrition grid | 28.4 | 43.9 | 27.2 | 38.6 | 53.8 | 50.8 | 38.5 |
Ingredient list | 8.6 | 15.1 | 5.3 | 8.4 | 16.3 | 19.0 | 11.3 |
Colour-coded GDA | 2.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.7 |
Other | 3.5 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 6.9 | 0 | 0 | 2.7 |
B | SE | Sig. | Exp (B) | B | SE | Sig. | Exp (B) | B | SE | Sig. | Exp (B) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Step 1, Nagelkerke R
2 = .05 | Step 2, Nagelkerke R
2 = .09 | Step 3, Nagelkerke R
2 = .14 | ||||||||||
Age | .005 | .003 | .098 | 1.005 | .001 | .003 | .710 | 1.001 | .000 | .003 | .806 | .999 |
Gender (base: female) | −.346 | .094 | .000 | .708 | −.228 | .096 | .017 | .796 | −.168 | .098 | .086 | .845 |
Child (base: no) | −.088 | .087 | .314 | .916 | −.059 | .088 | .501 | .942 | −.046 | .091 | .616 | .955 |
BMI | .002 | .009 | .823 | 1.002 | .008 | .009 | .383 | 1.008 | .011 | .009 | .261 | 1.011 |
Country (base: UK) | .000 | .000 | .000 | |||||||||
Sweden | −.805 | .127 | .000 | .447 | −.567 | .132 | .000 | .567 | −.508 | .137 | .000 | .602 |
France | −1.251 | .162 | .000 | .286 | −1.156 | .165 | .000 | .315 | −.998 | .170 | .000 | .368 |
Germany | −.319 | .131 | .015 | .727 | −.080 | .135 | .553 | .923 | .077 | .142 | .586 | 1.080 |
Poland | −.721 | .130 | .000 | .486 | −.468 | .136 | .001 | .626 | −.273 | .144 | .058 | .761 |
Hungary | −.262 | .144 | .068 | .770 | −.095 | .147 | .518 | .909 | .096 | .153 | .530 | 1.101 |
Social grade (base: managerial, professional) | .000 | .002 | .004 | |||||||||
Intermediate, small employers | −.281 | .100 | .005 | .755 | −.256 | .102 | .012 | .774 | −.282 | .105 | .007 | .755 |
Lower supervisory and technical | −.255 | .126 | .043 | .775 | −.161 | .128 | .208 | .851 | −.133 | .131 | .310 | .875 |
Semi-routine and routine | −.558 | .120 | .000 | .573 | −.444 | .122 | .000 | .641 | −.412 | .125 | .001 | .662 |
Interest in healthy eating | −.553 | .063 | .000 | .575 | −.487 | .065 | .000 | .614 | ||||
Nutrition knowledge | .351 | .119 | .003 | 1.421 | .345 | .122 | .005 | 1.411 | ||||
Product (base: ready meals) | .000 | |||||||||||
Soft drinks | −.387 | .154 | .012 | .679 | ||||||||
Yoghurts | .200 | .138 | .149 | 1.221 | ||||||||
Breakfast cereals | .239 | .140 | .088 | 1.269 | ||||||||
Confectionary | −.543 | .162 | .001 | .581 | ||||||||
Salty snacks | −.332 | .155 | .032 | .717 | ||||||||
Main reason (base: health-nutrition) | .000 | |||||||||||
Taste | −1.231 | .137 | .000 | .292 | ||||||||
Price | −1.161 | .181 | .000 | .313 | ||||||||
Other | −1.126 | .138 | .000 | .324 | ||||||||
Constant | −.346 | −1.941 | .241 | .144 | −1.136 | .357 | .001 | .321 | −1.103 | .368 | .003 | .332 |
B | SE | Sig. | |
---|---|---|---|
Dependent: Nutrition knowledge | |||
Intercept | 1.629 | 0.036 | 0.000 |
Country (base: UK) | |||
Sweden | −0.149 | 0.018 | 0.000 |
France | −0.201 | 0.019 | 0.000 |
Germany | −0.080 | 0.018 | 0.000 |
Poland | −0.229 | 0.018 | 0.000 |
Hungary | −0.089 | 0.021 | 0.000 |
Gender (base: female) | 0.018 | 0.012 | 0.132 |
Child (base: no) | −0.002 | 0.011 | 0.837 |
Age | −0.003 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
BMI | 0.000 | 0.001 | 0.426 |
SOC (base: managerial, professional) | |||
Intermediate, small emp. | −0.021 | 0.014 | 0.116 |
Lower supervisory and technical | −0.100 | 0.017 | 0.000 |
Semi-routine and routine | −0.117 | 0.015 | 0.000 |
R
2
| .065 | ||
Dependent: Interest in healthy eating | |||
Intercept | 2.614 | 0.710 | 0.000 |
Country (base: UK) | |||
Sweden | 0.366 | 0.035 | 0.000 |
France | 0.017 | 0.038 | 0.663 |
Germany | 0.374 | 0.038 | 0.000 |
Poland | 0.274 | 0.036 | 0.000 |
Hungary | 0.219 | 0.041 | 0.000 |
Gender (base: female) | 0.230 | 0.023 | 0.000 |
Age | −0.009 | 0.001 | 0.000 |
BMI | 0.008 | 0.002 | 0.000 |
Child (base: no) | 0.039 | 0.022 | 0.080 |
SOC (base: managerial, professional) | |||
Intermediate, small emp. | 0.057 | 0.027 | 0.032 |
Lower supervisory and technical | 0.126 | 0.033 | 0.000 |
Semi-routine and routine | 0.152 | 0.030 | 0.000 |
R
2
| .111 |
Understanding of FOP nutrition labels
Conceptual understanding
UK | Sweden | France | Germany | Poland | Hungary | Total | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
In your opinion, which of the following best describes what GDA means? | Guide to the amount of different foods a person should be eating in a day | 12.9 | 4.1 | 21.1 | 9.2 | 21.4 | 19.6 | 14.7 |
Guide to the minimum amount of energy (calories) and some nutrients (e.g. fat, saturated fat/saturates, salt, sugars) a person should be eating in a day | 13.5 | 16.8 | 14.2 | 23.2 | 27.6 | 25.3 | 20.5 | |
Exact amount of energy (calories) and some nutrients (e.g. fat, saturated fat/saturates, salt, sugars) a person should be eating every day | 10.5 | 12.1 | 33.4 | 15.3 | 21.0 | 19.1 | 18.3 | |
Guide to the amount of energy (calories) and maximum amount of some nutrients (e.g. fat, saturated fat/saturates, salt, sugars) a person should be eating in a day
| 61.0 | 65.3 | 26.8 | 50.3 | 29.5 | 35.7 | 44.8 | |
Not answered | 2.1 | 1.7 | 4.6 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 1.7 | |
Complete the sentence: GDA indicates, as a percentage of an adult’s daily needs, the levels of nutrients | In 100 g of the food | 18.6 | 28.1 | 13.8 | 27.1 | 40.6 | 40.3 | 29.1 |
In a serving of the food
| 47.3 | 35.9 | 55.8 | 49.4 | 27.0 | 31.9 | 39.6 | |
Both of the above answers are correct | 19.0 | 16.4 | 17.6 | 17.1 | 19.8 | 12.7 | 17.5 | |
None of these answers is correct | 12.4 | 16.3 | 9.1 | 4.7 | 12.4 | 14.7 | 11.9 | |
Not answered | 2.7 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 1.9 | |
If a food label says the average adult GDA for fat is 70 g, what do you think this means? | An average adult should eat at least 70 g fat a day | 7.1 | 16.7 | 32.5 | 10.3 | 26.6 | 25.0 | 20.0 |
An average adult should eat exactly 70 g fat a day | 2.1 | 11.1 | 21.2 | 6.3 | 22.8 | 10.1 | 13.3 | |
An average adult should eat no more than 70 g fat a day
| 88.6 | 71.4 | 42.0 | 82.3 | 50.5 | 64.3 | 65.4 | |
Not answered | 2.3 | 0.8 | 4.2 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 1.3 |
B | SE | Sig. | |
---|---|---|---|
Step 1: demographics only | |||
Intercept | 1.326 | 0.088 | 0.000 |
Country (base: UK) | |||
Sweden | −0.317 | 0.044 | 0.000 |
France | −0.754 | 0.047 | 0.000 |
Germany | −0.208 | 0.048 | 0.000 |
Poland | −0.976 | 0.045 | 0.000 |
Hungary | −0.728 | 0.051 | 0.000 |
Gender (base: female) | −0.017 | 0.029 | 0.563 |
Child (base: no) | 0.026 | 0.028 | 0.344 |
Age | −0.004 | 0.001 | 0.000 |
BMI | 0.003 | 0.003 | 0,229 |
Social grade (base: managerial, professional) | |||
Intermediate, small emp. | −0.092 | 0.033 | 0.006 |
Lower supervisory and technical | −0.197 | 0.041 | 0.000 |
Semi-routine and routine | −0.139 | 0.037 | 0.000 |
R
2
| .139 | ||
Step 2: demographics + nutrition knowledge, interest in healthy eating | |||
Intercept | 0.917 | 0.120 | 0.000 |
Country (base: UK) | |||
Sweden | −0.244 | 0.045 | 0.000 |
France | −0.692 | 0.048 | 0.000 |
Germany | −0.169 | 0.049 | 0.001 |
Poland | −0.889 | 0.046 | 0.000 |
Hungary | −0.695 | 0.052 | 0.000 |
Gender (base: female) | −0.008 | 0.030 | 0.785 |
Child (base: no) | 0.037 | 0.028 | 0.186 |
Age | −0.003 | 0.001 | 0.000 |
BMI | 0.004 | 0.003 | 0.147 |
Social grade (base: managerial, professional) | |||
Intermediate, small emp. | −0.087 | 0.033 | 0.009 |
Lower supervisory and technical | −0.148 | 0.042 | 0.000 |
Semi-routine and routine | −0.067 | 0.038 | 0.076 |
Interest in health eating | −0.073 | 0.019 | 0.000 |
Nutrition knowledge | 0.373 | 0.037 | 0.000 |
R
2
| .165 |
Health inferences based on labels without context
Substantial understanding and health inferences when choosing between three ready meals
Product | Nutrition information | Product A | Product B | Product C | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK | Chilled pasta ready meal | GDA (per pack) on front, nutrition table per pack and per 100 g on back, product B has also % GDA and absolute GDA on back | Calories 559/28%, sugar 2 g/2%, fat 29.6 g/42%, saturates 15.6 g/78%, salt 2.4 g/39% | Calories 400/20%, sugar 4.4 g/5%, fat 8.8 g/13%, saturates 4.8 g/24%, salt 1.8 g/30%, carries mark with Weight Watchers points, is part of ‘light choices’ product range | Calories 615/31%, sugar 12.2 g/14%, fat 40.1 g/57%, saturates 16.4 g/82%, salt 2 g/33% |
Sweden | Frozen ready meal | Nutrition table per pack and per 100 g on back; one product carries keyhole | Calories 380, sugar 9.1 g, fat 14 g, saturates 5.8 g, salt 4.2 g, has on back claim ‘rich in fibre’ | Calories 380, sugar 11 g, fat 15 g, saturates 6.4 g, salt 3.7 g | Calories 430, sugar 6.1 g, fat 12 g, saturates 1.1 g, salt 3.5 g, carries keyhole logo |
France | Chilled ready meal | GDA (per pack) without saturates on front, nutrition table per pack and per 100 g on back | Calories 542/27%, sugar 10.1 g/20%, fat 24.6 g/34%, saturates 13.8 g, salt 4.3 g/72% | Calories 499/25%, sugar 7 g/8%, fat 21.2 g/29%, saturates 7.2 g, salt 3.5 g/58% | Calories 266, sugar 9 g/10%, fat 14.7 g/21%, saturates 6 g, salt 2.1 g/36% |
Germany | Frozen pizza | GDA (per half pizza) on front, nutrition table per half pizza and per 100 g, GDAs and absolute GDA values on back | Calories 405/20%, sugar 6.5 g/7%, fat 17 g/24%, saturates 7.5 g/38%, salt 2.6 g/43% | Calories 318/16%, sugar 6.7 g/7%, fat 9.6 g/14%, saturates 4.4 g/2%, salt 2.2 g/37% | Calories 422/21%, sugar 6 g/7%, fat 18 g/26%, saturates 10 g/50%, salt 2.6 g/43% |
Poland | Frozen pizza | GDA (per half pizza) on front, nutrition list per 100 g on back | Calories 310/16%, sugar 0.8 g/1%, fat 10.5 g/15%, saturates 3 g/15%, salt 1.7 g/28% | Calories 295/15%, sugar 0.7 g/1%, fat 9.5 g/14%, saturates 2.3 g/12%, salt 1.6 g/27% | Calories 355/18%, sugar 0.8/1%, fat 15 g/21%, saturates 4.5 g/23%, salt 2 g/33% |
Hungary | Frozen pizza | GDA (per half pizza) on front, nutrition list per 100 g on back | Calories 295/15%, sugar 0.7 g/1%, fat 9.5 g/14%, saturates 2.3 g/12%, salt 1.6 g/27% | Calories 310/16%, sugar 0.8 g/1%, fat 10.5 g/15%, saturates 3 g/15%, salt 1.7 g/28% | Calories 355/18%, sugar 0.8/1%, fat 15 g/21%, saturates 4.5 g/23%, salt 2 g/33% |
UK | Sweden | France | Germany | Poland | Hungary | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Is lowest in saturated fat per serving | 88.5 | 80.2 | 78.6 | 87.0 | 51.5 | 71.3 |
Has the lowest calories per 100 g | 89.1 | 53.7 | 87.0 | 92.8 | 59.6 | 72.7 |
Contains the highest percentage of GDA for sugar | 75.8 | 68.8 | 66.6 | 65.2 | 60.6 | 61.6 |
Provides you with more than half of your GDA of fat | 78.7 | 11.7 | 62.4 | 57.4 | 38.1 | 34.7 |
Contains the most salt | 83.0 | 72.9 | 80.2 | 71.0 | 76.9 | 86.2 |
Product | Healthiest | Second healthiest | Third healthiest | Not answered | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK | A | 4.2 |
83.7
| 7.1 | 5.1 |
B |
87.5
| 5.9 | 2.4 | 4.2 | |
C | 3.7 | 5.9 |
85.4
| 5.0 | |
Sweden | A | 32.1 |
51.5
| 11.7 | 4.7 |
B | 6.4 | 16.7 |
72.0
| 4.8 | |
C |
56.9
| 27.0 | 12.2 | 3.9 | |
France | A | 7.2 | 15.2 |
72.0
| 5.5 |
B | 4.3 |
73.5
| 17.0 | 5.2 | |
C |
83.6
| 6.8 | 5.4 | 4.2 | |
Germany | A | 1.6 |
55.2
| 36.9 | 6.3 |
B |
93.9
| 2.7 | 1.6 | 1.8 | |
C | 3.7 | 35.3 | 54.7 | 6.3 | |
Poland | A | 43.5 |
42.9
| 13.6 | 0 |
B |
48.9
| 40.8 | 10.3 | 0 | |
C | 7.6 | 16.3 |
76.1
| 0 | |
Hungary | A |
49.6
| 42.2 | 6.1 | 2.0 |
B | 44.5 |
49.4
| 4.0 | 2.1 | |
C | 4.1 | 6.0 |
87.5
| 2.4 |
B | SE | Sig. | |
---|---|---|---|
Step 1: demographics only | |||
Intercept | 5.671 | 0.202 | 0.000 |
Country (base: UK) | |||
Sweden | −2.092 | 0.110 | 0.000 |
France | −0.693 | 0.118 | 0.000 |
Germany | −0.984 | 0.119 | 0.000 |
Poland | −2.385 | 0.112 | 0.000 |
Hungary | −1.733 | 0.126 | 0.000 |
Gender (base: female) | −0.072 | 0.067 | 0.280 |
Child (base: no) | −0.025 | 0.063 | 0.694 |
Age | −0.016 | 0.002 | 0.000 |
BMI | −0.002 | 0.007 | 0.755 |
Social grade (base: managerial, professional) | |||
Intermediate, small emp. | −0.034 | 0.076 | 0.654 |
Lower supervisory and technical | −0.207 | 0.095 | 0.028 |
Semi-routine and routine | −0.334 | 0.085 | 0.000 |
R
2
| .152 | ||
Step 2: demographics + nutrition knowledge, interest in healthy eating | |||
Intercept | 3.698 | 0.269 | 0.000 |
Country (base: UK) | |||
Sweden | −1.907 | 0.110 | 0.000 |
France | −0.400 | 0.117 | 0.001 |
Germany | −0.888 | 0.117 | 0.000 |
Poland | −2.098 | 0.112 | 0.000 |
Hungary | −1.614 | 0.124 | 0.000 |
Gender (base: female) | −0.090 | 0.066 | 0.72 |
Child (base: no) | −0.023 | 0.062 | 0.715 |
Age | −0.012 | 0.002 | 0.000 |
BMI | 0.001 | 0.007 | 0.886 |
Social grade (base: managerial, professional) | |||
Intermediate, small emp. | −0.022 | 0.074 | 0.763 |
Lower supervisory and technical | −0.077 | 0.093 | 0.405 |
Semi-routine and routine | −0.143 | 0.084 | 0.088 |
Interest in healthy eating | −0.075 | 0.043 | 0.078 |
Nutrition knowledge | 1.317 | 0.083 | 0.000 |
R
2
| .211 |