In this research, we tested the effect of a novel method of presenting calorie information-highlighting relative differences in calories among ingredients. We conducted an online hypothetical food choice experiment where 633 participants selected the ingredients for a sandwich from five categories: meat/protein, cheese, spread/dressing, bread, and vegetables. Each participant was randomly assigned to one of four calorie information conditions: 1) a condition in which no information about calories was provided, 2) a condition in which calorie information was provided for each ingredient, 3) a condition in which calorie information was presented relative to the highest calorie item, and 4) a condition in which calorie information was presented relative to the lowest calorie item. Participants in the high- and low-calorie reference conditions ordered between 32 and 36 fewer calories per sandwich than participants in the no-calorie information control condition (p ≤ 0.04). Calories ordered by participants in the per-item calorie condition were not significantly different than the control. Presenting relative calorie or other nutritional information to make health-related trade-offs more salient may guide consumers to make healthier choices.

中文翻译：

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呈现相对卡路里信息对订购卡路里的影响

在这项研究中，我们测试了一种呈现卡路里信息的新方法的效果——突出显示成分之间卡路里的相对差异。我们进行了一个在线假设食物选择实验，其中 633 名参与者从五个类别中选择了三明治的原料：肉/蛋白质、奶酪、涂抹酱/调味品、面包和蔬菜。每个参与者被随机分配到四种卡路里信息条件之一：1) 不提供卡路里信息的条件，2) 为每种成分提供卡路里信息的条件，3) 提供卡路里信息的条件相对于最高卡路里项目，以及 4) 相对于最低卡路里项目呈现卡路里信息的条件。高热量和低热量参考条件下的参与者每个三明治比无热量信息控制条件下的参与者少 32 到 36 卡路里（p ≤ 0.04）。参与者在每项卡路里条件下订购的卡路里与对照没有显着差异。提供相对卡路里或其他营养信息以使与健康相关的权衡更加突出可能会引导消费者做出更健康的选择。