Agricultural Economics Department
Document Type
Article
Date of this Version
2022
Citation
Curr Dev Nutr. 2022 Jun; 6(Suppl 1): 486. Published online 2022 Jun 14.
doi: 10.1093/cdn/nzac059.014
PMCID: PMC9193932
Abstract
Objectives: Consumers facemyriad food products in supermarkets, obviating consideration of all options. Consumers are likely to direct scarce attention to products they believe will provide them the best outcome. However, consumers may hold inaccurate beliefs— particularly about health attributes which can lead them to omit items from consideration that they would have optimally considered We examine how consumers’ beliefs about the relative price, taste, and healthiness of food product sets affect the healthiness of the set of products they consider.
Conclusions: Believes about relative differences in nutritional quality of foods importantly influence consideration of products, potentially perpetuating misconceptions about relative healthiness of products. Finding ways to prompt individuals to challenge prior beliefs about health may promote healthier food choices.