Different individuals may opt to utilize a nutrition label in their purchasing decisions i.e. to manage weight, to ensure adequate intake of certain nutrients or to determine food selections etc. However, there are particular groups of people who are more likely to use the label including;
As stated in the former post on Enablers of nutrition label usage, nutrition knowledge is a critical element of nutrition label usage. It coincides with enhanced diet quality and healthy lifestyle practices. Individuals with high nutrition knowledge are more likely to implement label use when deciding what food item to purchase.
Educated persons are also likely to use a nutrition label. Educated persons, especially those with nutrition knowledge are more susceptible to utilize their knowledge on nutrition when to interpret a nutrition label , and as such a nutrition label can influence their purchasing decisions. Furthermore, individuals with high education level i.e. bachelors or post graduate are more inclined to use the label as they are more aware about the importance of labels.
High income correlates with higher probability of nutrition label use than lower income. Persons with high incomes are more likely to use the label. In as much as other factors such as price may be considered by them, they are not necessarily a priority. However, for some high-income earners, factors such as the lack of time may further inhibit use of labels.
Persons who are health- conscious are likely to use a label when employing purchasing decisions. Such persons are likely to be concerned about their nutrient and calorie intake. Individuals with dietary restrictions or health conditions are also likely to use the label so that they are informed about nutrients and their quantities to manage them.
Certain individuals are more disposed to use a label i.e. those who are health conscious, more educated persons, high-income earners and those with nutrition knowledge. Although, factors such as familiarity with particular foods and price may prevent label use even among these persons, they are the most likely to use a label.