Factors affecting use and understanding of nutrition information on food labels: evidences from consumers

In the past years, European population has experienced an increase in several chronic diseases linked to dietary and lifestyle factors. In particular obesity is increasing at an alarming rate all over Europe, while warnings about its diffusion have intensified. As a result nutrition-related measures are highly ranked in the agenda of the European Union political priorities. Specifically, at the end of 2011 the EU introduced new rules on food labelling requirements by adding a nutritional declaration. In this context the current paper explores factors affecting use and understanding of nutrition information on food labels in Italy and provides potentially useful assistance for the implementation of new nutrition labelling. Results of a direct survey on a random sample of 400 food shoppers identifies different profiles of consumers, through the use of PCA and Cluster Analysis. Main findings reveal the need to focus primarily on education campaigns and provide specific indications for developers and marketers as well as government bodies that are interested in designing consumer communication strategies and effective health programs

Rational combinations of Betti diagrams of complete intersections

We investigate decompositions of Betti diagrams over a polynomial ring within the framework of Boij-S\"oderberg theory. That is, given a Betti diagram, we determine if it is possible to decompose it into the Betti diagrams of complete intersections. To do so, we determine the extremal rays of the cone generated by the diagrams of complete intersections and provide a rudimentary algorithm for decomposition.Comment: This research was conducted at the Willamette Mathematics Consortium RE

Factors affecting use and understanding of nutrition information on food labels: evidences from consumers

In the past years, European population has experienced an increase in several chronic diseases linked to dietary and lifestyle factors. In particular obesity is increasing at an alarming rate all over Europe, while warnings about its diffusion have intensified. As a result nutrition-related measures are highly ranked in the agenda of the European Union political priorities. Specifically, at the end of 2011 the EU introduced new rules on food labelling requirements by adding a nutritional declaration. In this context the current paper explores factors affecting use and understanding of nutrition information on food labels in Italy and provides potentially useful assistance for the implementation of new nutrition labelling. Results of a direct survey on a random sample of 400 food shoppers identifies different profiles of consumers, through the use of PCA and Cluster Analysis. Main findings reveal the need to focus primarily on education campaigns and provide specific indications for developers and marketers as well as government bodies that are interested in designing consumer communication strategies and effective health programs

Multistep, sequential control of the trafficking and function of the multiple sulfatase deficiency gene product, SUMF1 by PDI, ERGIC-53 and ERp44.

Sulfatase modifying factor 1 (SUMF1) encodes for the formylglicine generating enzyme, which activates sulfatases by modifying a key cysteine residue within their catalytic domains. SUMF1 is mutated in patients affected by multiple sulfatase deficiency, a rare recessive disorder in which all sulfatase activities are impaired. Despite the absence of canonical retention/retrieval signals, SUMF1 is largely retained in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), where it exerts its enzymatic activity on nascent sulfatases. Part of SUMF1 is secreted and paracrinally taken up by distant cells. Here we show that SUMF1 interacts with protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) and ERp44, two thioredoxin family members residing in the early secretory pathway, and with ERGIC-53, a lectin that shuttles between the ER and the Golgi. Functional assays reveal that these interactions are crucial for controlling SUMF1 traffic and function. PDI couples SUMF1 retention and activation in the ER. ERGIC-53 and ERp44 act downstream, favoring SUMF1 export from and retrieval to the ER, respectively. Silencing ERGIC-53 causes proteasomal degradation of SUMF1, while down-regulating ERp44 promotes its secretion. When over-expressed, each of three interactors favors intracellular accumulation. Our results reveal a multistep control of SUMF1 trafficking, with sequential interactions dynamically determining ER localization, activity and secretion

The Influence of Alcohol Warning Labels on Consumers’ Choices of Wine and Beer

This study aims to analyse the influence of alternative formats of health warnings on French and Italian Millennial consumers’ choices of beer and wine. Two Discrete Choice Experiments were built for wine and beer and two Latent Class choice models were applied in order to verify the existence of different consumer profiles. Results show that young consumers’ choices for wine and beer are influenced by framing, design and visibility of warnings. In both countries, the acceptance of warnings is higher for beer than for wine and in both cases consumers show higher utility for a logo on the front label: on the neck with a neutral message in the case of beer; on the front, without a message for wine. Latent Class choice models highlight the existence of different consumers’ groups with different levels of warning influencing their choices. In order to apply policies conducting to health benefits, our results suggest the need to focus on young individuals to communicate the risks of alcohol abuse through targeted messages and, more generally, to make them aware of the potential negative effects of excessive consumption of both wine and beer

Why consumers drink natural wine? Consumer perception and information about natural wine

Similar to other foods, the concept of natural wine is much debated due to the lack of a clear and regulated definition, leading to a proliferation of heterogeneous norms and standards proposed from different natural wine associations at national levels. The current study explored the aspects which mediate individuals’ information and perception of natural wine, and the rationale behind natural wine consumption behavior among Italian (n = 501) and Spanish (n = 527) regular wine consumers. The results reveal a quite low self-reported degree of perceived information by Italian respondents and slightly higher levels among Spanish ones. The key drivers of natural wine consumption in both countries are wine consumption frequency, information, and natural product interest. In contrast, higher wine involvement levels decrease natural wine consumption frequency in both Italy and Spain. The findings also show that different perceptions lead to diverse motivations, suggesting the need for more homogeneous standards to mitigate the level of information asymmetry currently on the market

The perceived severity of a disease and the impact of the vocabulary used to convey information: using Rasch scaling in a simulated oncological scenario.

Background: Healthcare staff should be aware of the importance that patients may attach to the words that are used to convey information. This is relevant in terms of the patients\u2019 understanding. Modeling how people understand the information conveyed in a medical context may help health practitioners to better appreciate the patients\u2019 approach. Purpose: 1) Analyze the participants\u2019 self-reported perception of the type of information provided in an oncological scenario in terms of three dimensions: impairment to their health, risks associated with the disease itself and commitment required to undergo the treatment; and 2) show the benefits of using Rasch scaling for the analysis of the data. Starting from a survey, Rasch scaling produces a unidimensional logit-interval scale relating to the extent to which each item conveys a latent dimension. These were related to structure, in particular concerning communication by means of opposite vs. unipolar language. Subjects and methods: The participants rated 82 items of information in a questionnaire regarding their perception of impairment to their health (H) and the risks (R) and commitment relating to the treatment prescribed (T). Results: The scaling produced an item bank for healthcare staff to consult in order to estimate the importance the recipient would be likely to attach to the vocabulary used and the likely impact of the information in terms of the patient\u2019s condition. Furthermore, the use of opposites was generally associated with a clearer impression of whether the information given was generally only very negative or slightly negative, whereas \u2018neutral\u2019 information was often perceived as being very negative. Actual findings: Is possible to estimate people\u2019s understanding more precisely (in terms of H, R and T) which can help healthcare practitioners to modulate the way they convey information. Limitations: The participants in the study were healthy volunteers and the context was simulated