2024-01-02 13:30:00
By The editorial team with Belga
15 minutes ago
Researchers are testing an alternative method to traditional kilocalories.
Researchers from the University of Antwerp (UAntwerpen) conducted a study to assess the impact of an alternative food labeling system on consumer behavior. Although the classic method (kilocalories or kcal) currently remains the most precise, researchers remain open to other alternatives.
Figures expressed in kcal/100g are not always the best tool for those who want to eat healthier. Instead of “350 kcal”, a packaging might just as easily say “half an hour of cycling”. In other words, what would happen if we no longer thought in terms of kilocalories, but in terms of the time it takes to burn those calories through exercise?
“People are emotional beings and don’t always understand the value of these numbers“, explains Nathalie Dens, professor of marketing at UAntwerpen. “In supermarkets, our reptilian brain is attracted by the immediate reward. This is why we are quicker to choose chocolate than fruit.“
Governments have been concerned regarding obesity for a long time. “VSThis is why there are calls to introduce a new labeling system: the caloric equivalent of physical activity, or PACE“, explains Clara Cutello, a doctor at the University of Antwerp. “It is an alternative labeling which does not mention the number of kilocalories, but which shows how long it is necessary to walk or swim to consume this energy.“
The current system is more precise
The study, conducted by Cutello’s team with nearly two hundred participants, aimed to determine the effectiveness of PACE in relation to the number of kilocalories. Each participant evaluated thirty food images by estimating the number of calories or the PACE value, three times.
The results demonstrated that traditional labeling was more accurate than alternative labeling. The participants estimated the number of calories better than the exercise time needed to burn them. However, participants’ estimates improved over time, regardless of the labeling system used.
“The classic counting method has proven to be the more accurate of the two“, concludes Dens. The researcher does not, however, wish to rule out the PACE method. “With both systems, we observe that the estimates become more and more precise with each test. This proves that consumers need to get used to a new labeling system.“
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#food #labels #fight #obesity
