Abstract Visual attention to health labels can indicate a subsequent healthy food choice. This study looked into the relative effects of Choices logos and traffic light labels on consumers’ visual attention and food choice. A field experiment using mobile eye-tracking was conducted in a Dutch university canteen. Participants (N = 48) walked to the shopping area wearing an eye-tracking device and chose one pack of yoghurt out of 12 from the refrigerated shelf. The packages varied in health label format (traffic light label, the Choices or no logo), fat content (low-fat, semi-fat and full fat), and brand. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions: with or without time constraint. The results revealed that participants fixated longer and more often on the traffic light labels compared to the Choices logos. Participants in the time constraint condition demonstrated less visual attention to health labels compared to participants without time constraint. General Health Interest (GHI) moderated the effect of time constraints. The condition without time constraints increased attention to health labels for participants with high GHI, but not for participants with low GHI. However, visual attention to health labels was a poor predictor of the subsequent healthy choice. The results suggest that attention to health labels might indicate the interest towards an unfamiliar food label, but it does not necessarily indicate a healthier food choice.

中文翻译：

---

关注健康标签是否预示着健康的食物选择？眼动追踪研究

摘要 对健康标签的视觉关注可以表明随后的健康食品选择。本研究调查了 Choices 标志和交通灯标签对消费者视觉注意力和食物选择的相对影响。在荷兰大学食堂进行了使用移动眼动追踪的现场实验。参与者 (N = 48) 戴着眼动追踪设备走到购物区，并从冷藏货架上的 12 种酸奶中选择了 1 包酸奶。这些包装在健康标签格式（红绿灯标签、选择或无标志）、脂肪含量（低脂、半脂和全脂）和品牌方面各不相同。参与者被随机分配到两个条件之一：有或没有时间限制。结果显示，与 Choices 标志相比，参与者更长时间、更频繁地关注交通灯标签。与没有时间限制的参与者相比，时间限制条件下的参与者对健康标签的视觉关注较少。一般健康利益 (GHI) 缓和了时间限制的影响。没有时间限制的条件增加了对高 GHI 参与者健康标签的关注，但对低 GHI 参与者则不然。然而，对健康标签的视觉关注不能很好地预测随后的健康选择。结果表明，对健康标签的关注可能表明对不熟悉的食品标签感兴趣，但并不一定表明选择更健康的食品。没有时间限制的条件增加了对高 GHI 参与者健康标签的关注，但对低 GHI 参与者则不然。然而，对健康标签的视觉关注不能很好地预测随后的健康选择。结果表明，对健康标签的关注可能表明对不熟悉的食品标签感兴趣，但并不一定表明选择更健康的食品。没有时间限制的条件增加了对高 GHI 参与者健康标签的关注，但对低 GHI 参与者则不然。然而，对健康标签的视觉关注不能很好地预测随后的健康选择。结果表明，对健康标签的关注可能表明对不熟悉的食品标签感兴趣，但并不一定表明选择更健康的食品。