Harvard Bell Fellow Anna H. Grummon, PhD, and her colleague Marissa G. Hall, PhD, of the University of North Carolina, have published a meta-analysis in PLOS Medicine examining the effects of sugary beverage warning labels on changing behavior, emotions, attitudes, and perceptions. The researchers synthesized the findings of twenty-three experiments conducted across multiple countries. They found that across these experimental studies, sugary drink warnings not only reduced purchases of sugary drinks, but also caused stronger emotional responses, increased perceptions that sugary drinks contribute to disease, and reduced intentions to purchase or consume sugary drinks, all of which are key indicators when it comes to long-term behavior change. These results provide evidence that requiring warnings for sugary drinks could be an effective policy strategy for informing consumers and reducing consumption of sugary drinks.
Read more in US News & World Report
As reported in the news by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
News piece by UNC Gillings School of Public Health