THE MAGNIFYING GLASS FRONT-OF-PACKAGE NUTRITION LABELING SYSTEM REDUCES THE APPROACH MOTIVATION TOWARD SWEET ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS

Ultra-processed foods (UPF) have little to no nutritional value and are associated with non-communicable diseases. In addition, UPF have intrinsic and extrinsic proprieties that make them hyper-palatable, which can cause an increase in approach motivation towards them compared to unprocessed and minimal-processed foods (UMPF). As eating is an automatic behavior, environmental cues have more influence than an individual’s will. Therefore, reducing the appetite drive generated by UPF is crucial for public health. Front-of-package nutrition labeling systems can be used as a strategy to achieve this. Emotional responses (i.e., approach motivation) to environmental cues can be measured through the evaluation of facial expressions. Corrugator supercilli muscle activity has been well reported as a good direct assessment of food-evoked emotional responses. However, it is still unclear whether sweet and savory foods can modulate their responses differently.