Can physical performance food labels encourage healthier food choices among physically active people?

Labeling food options in workplace cafeterias is a cost-effective way of promoting healthy eating. Prior findings on the effectiveness of food labels are mixed. This study develops and empirically tests a new approach: signaling which aspects of physical performance are enhanced by which food item. The study focuses on physically active individuals eating at workplace cafeterias. Study 1 (survey experiment, N = 513) investigates how the new labeling strategy is perceived by physically active participants in a simulated work cafeteria setting. Study 2 (an eye-tracking study, N = 60) tests whether adding messages that leverage personal goals or social identity to the labels increases attention to the labels and their effectiveness. Findings suggest that the new labels outperform current nutritional and physical activity calorie equivalent (PACE) labels in terms of positive perception, emotional reactions, and self-reported usage. However, self-reported label use did not align with actual food selections, likely due to a simplified cafeteria task that failed to reflect real-life decision-making. Study 2 addressed this with a more realistic setup, showing that the new labels led to significantly healthier food choices compared to no label condition. Adding additional messaging to the labels to further increase their impact did not prove effective. The findings imply that simple, performance-aligned labels might be more effective than existing labels in promoting healthier food choices for physically active individuals. • We test new physical activity labels to prompt healthy food choices in cafeterias. • The new labels show physical performance benefits of certain food items available at cafeterias. • The new labels outperform existing labels on perception and emotion measures. • Compared to no labels, the new labels lead to healthier food selection intentions. • Adding theory-based messages does not enhance attention to labels or effectiveness.