Effectiveness and efficiency of different shapes of food guides

Abstract

Objective: To compare the influence of a food guide's shape on its effectiveness and efficiency to convey nutritional information.

Methods: A between-subjects experiment was conducted by manipulating the graph's shape (circle, pyramid, or rainbow). Nutrition tasks were used to assess the effectiveness and eye-movement data (number/duration of fixations) to examine the efficiency of the formats. The data were quantitatively analyzed (chi-square, ANOVA).

Results: There were no overall differences between the formats regarding effectiveness and efficiency. However, there were differences between the formats in effectiveness regarding 3 of the 5 nutrition tasks (χ(2)s ≥ 7.044, Ps < .05). Furthermore, viewers' attention was drawn to different parts of the graph, depending on the format.

Conclusions and implications: The results suggest that choosing different formats for practical nutrition communication does not play a major role in effectiveness or efficiency of this communication. However, different parts of the graph are more salient in various food guide formats.