Effect of nutrition labels on dietary quality among college students: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

CONTEXT: College students are at an elevated risk of poor nutrition and eating habits. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this systematic review was to examine and quantify the effect of nutrition labels on diet quality in college students. DATA SOURCES: Literature searches were conducted in 4 electronic databases. STUDY SELECTION: Peer-reviewed publications that assessed the effect of nutrition label use on food choice or dietary intake in college students were included. DATA EXTRACTION: Twenty-two randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, and pre-post studies were identified. RESULTS: Sixteen studies found label exposure to be associated with improved diet. Of the 13 studies reporting calories selected or consumed, 8 found that posting labels at the point of purchase decreased calories, 4 found no effect, and 1 found that calories consumed increased after posting labels. Nine of the 12 studies assessing noncaloric measures found that nutrition labels positively affected diet quality. Meta-analysis of pre-post studies found a decrease of 36 kcal (P < 0.05) with label exposure. CONCLUSIONS: Nutrition labels had a moderate but positive effect on dietary intake of college students.