Dieters misled by food labels

Those of us who are on a diet, (or simply taking steps to improve what we eat) are frequently misled by food packaging, according to a recent study published in the journal of consumer behaviour   

The study showed that "Dieters tend to take negative rather than positive steps - they will make an effort to avoid foods they perceive as unhealthy, rather than seeking out good foods."

A fat and calorie laden milkshake that is labeled as a fruit smoothie is more likely to fool the dieter, because of its healthy-sounding name. A non-dieter is more likely to check its nutritional information before making the purchasing decision. 

In one of the tests, subjects were given a chewable product (jelly belly candies) which was labeled either fruit chews or candy chews, even though both products were the same. 

Those on a diet perceived candy chews as less healthy than fruit chews. More fruit chews were consumed by dieters when hearing fruit chews than candy chews. Non-dieters were much less influenced by the product's name.

Whats the moral of the story?  As i've said before, most of the front of a food package is marketing bull$hit! Read the nutritional info and the ingredients list and ignore everything else on the packet.

Related: How much bull$hit is in your breakfast cereal?