Abstract
Even though American consumers have become more aware of the relationship between health and nutrition, it seems that consumers do always not choose food in the way recommended by federal nutrition policy. There are relatively few studies that look at the impact of nutrition information on meals chosen in restaurants or other food services. This field study attempts to discover how the food choices of University of Wisconsin-Madison Lakefront cafeteria patrons were influenced by nutrition information. The model of the consumer decision process used in this study is based on the Engel-Kollat-Blackwell Model. The Chi square statistic was used to determine the significance of the relationship between independent and dependent variables. Information about the percentage of calories from fat, from carbohydrates, and from protein was presented for each entree in a pie-chart graphic along with a listing of the number of calories and total fat in grams. The stated use of nutrition information is significantly related to whether the patron is attempting to modify their diet. When nutrition information signs were presented, patrons' food choices were higher in fat than they were when no nutrition information signs were available. A Chi square test showed that patrons' food choices with and without the signs were significantly related. Concerned patrons are more likely to use nutrition as an evaluative criterion than less concerned patrons. This study showed that while the nutrition information signs at Lakefront Cafeteria did appear to help patrons' selecting food, the effect was limited because most patrons failed to notice the signs. This suggests that to get more patrons including those without meal plan membership to notice the signs, a different strategy may be necessary.
