Motives Underlying Food Choice for Children and Perception of Nutritional Information Among Low-Income Mothers in a Latin American Country.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of nutritional information on how low-income mothers select food for their children.

DESIGN: Five focus groups, each consisting of 5-10 participants, were conducted.

PARTICIPANTS: Women, older than 18 years, mothers of young children who were beneficiaries of one of the national food stamps programs in Uruguay.

PHENOMENON OF INTEREST: Focus group discussions were held around motives underlying food choices for children and perception of labeling systems.

ANALYSIS: Transcripts of the focus group discussions were analyzed using inductive coding.

RESULTS: Forty-two women, aged between 18 and 40 years, participated in 5 focus groups. Results showed that low-income mothers do not consider nutritional information when selecting food their children. Traditional nutritional labeling was perceived as complex, difficult to find, and difficult to understand. Participants stressed that they relied on the nutrition claims included on labels for assessing the healthfulness of food products. Semi-directive and directive front-of-pack labels were positively evaluated in terms of ease of interpretation. Participants preferred the traffic light system over other alternatives.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Results suggest the need to implement simplified nutritional labeling and to regulate the use of nutrition claims on products targeted at children.