PLoS Med: The impact of pictorial health warnings on purchases of sugary drinks for children

8 February, 2022

Dear HIFA and CHIFA,

We have discussed on HIFA about the value of pictorial health warnings on tobacco products, where the evidence is overwhelming and they are now obligatory in over 100 countries. Could a similar approach be used to reduce purchases of sugary drinks for children? This paper from the US concludes 'Pictorial warnings are a promising option for reducing purchases of sugary drinks for children'.

CITATION: Hall MG, Grummon AH, Higgins ICA, Lazard AJ, Prestemon CE, Avendaño-Galdamez MI, et al. (2022) The impact of pictorial health warnings on purchases of sugary drinks for children: A randomized controlled trial. PLoS Med 19(2): e1003885. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003885

AUTHOR SUMMARY

Why was this study done?

- Children in the US consume more than the recommended levels of sugary drinks, increasing their risk of a variety of chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

- Experimental studies of text-only sugary drink warning labels indicate that warnings reduce sugary drink consumption.

- To our knowledge, studies have not yet examined the effects of pictorial warnings on parents’ purchases of sugary drinks for their children or on purchases in naturalistic settings.

What did the researchers do and find?

- Parents of children aged 2 to 12 years (n = 325) participated in a randomized trial. Participants were randomized to a pictorial warnings arm (sugary drinks displayed pictorial health warnings about type 2 diabetes and heart damage) or a control arm (sugary drinks displayed a barcode label). Participants completed a shopping task in a naturalistic store laboratory, where sugary drinks had the assigned label, and completed a survey.

- Exposure to pictorial warning labels on sugary drinks led to a 17% absolute reduction in the purchasing of sugary drinks compared to exposure to the barcode control label.

What do these findings mean?

- Pictorial warnings are a promising option for reducing purchases of sugary drinks for children.

- Implementation of pictorial warning label policies could be an effective strategy for reducing sugary drink purchases and sugary drink–related health outcomes.

- Future studies should evaluate the long-term effects of warning labels on children’s sugary drink consumption and prevalence of diet-related chronic disease.

COMMENT (NPW): Future research should also look at the impact of pictorial health warnings on children, with regards to purchase and consumption, and to how how they interpret and respond to such warnings.

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Neil Pakenham-Walsh, HIFA Coordinator, neil@hifa.org www.hifa.org