How Labels Affect Parents' Choices for Kids' Drinks

In Mexico, a package warning label law popped up in 2020. It added a note about non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS), saying "Contains NNS. Avoid in children. " This study looked at how these labels influenced parental choices and health beliefs about kids' drinks. They studied 844 parents of kids aged 5-10, using data from the EPHA niñ@s study. First, they were shown drinks without warnings. Then, they saw the same drinks with warnings. The warnings were either about "excess in sugar" or NNS.

After adding the warnings, parents picked 100% juice more often over sugar-filled nectar, and that nectar more often than the one with NNS. They also thought these sugar-filled drinks were less healthy. The labels had the biggest effect on parents with less nutrition knowledge and who didn't know much about NNS. This shows that warnings on packages can help parents pick healthier drinks for their kids.

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