Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41795099›Full record

ArticleBMC nutrition2026

Fairer competition? Warning labels narrow the gap between the emotional reactions evoked by ultra-processed and unprocessed/minimally processed foods.

Laiz A A Silva, Thayane C Lemos, Sara D J Gaspar, Guilherme M Coutinho, Leticia Oliveira, Mirtes G Pereira, Carlos F U Rojas, Carla G Spinillo, Isabel A David

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Article in BMC nutrition, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Laiz A A SilvaDepartment of Physiology and Pharmacology, Biomedical Institute, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niteroi, RJ, Brazil.
Thayane C LemosDepartment of Physiology and Pharmacology, Biomedical Institute, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niteroi, RJ, Brazil.
Sara D J GasparInstitute of Food and Nutrition, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Macaé, RJ, Brazil.
Guilherme M CoutinhoDepartment of Physiology and Pharmacology, Biomedical Institute, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niteroi, RJ, Brazil.
Leticia OliveiraDepartment of Physiology and Pharmacology, Biomedical Institute, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niteroi, RJ, Brazil.
Mirtes G PereiraDepartment of Physiology and Pharmacology, Biomedical Institute, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niteroi, RJ, Brazil.
Carlos F U RojasDesign Postgraduate Program, Department of Design, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil.
Carla G SpinilloDesign Postgraduate Program, Department of Design, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil.
Isabel A DavidDepartment of Physiology and Pharmacology, Biomedical Institute, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niteroi, RJ, Brazil. isabeldavid@id.uff.br.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCompared with unprocessed/minimally processed foods (UMPF), ultraprocessed foods (UPF) elicit stronger emotional reactions. We aimed to investigate whether octagon and/or triangle warning labels (WL) reduce the difference between the emotional reactions evoked by UPF and those evoked by UMPF.

methodsUniversity students (n = 247) participated in a supervised remote experiment in which normative ratings for the International Affective Pictures System (IAPS) methodology were applied. The participants were randomly allocated into three experimental study arms: (1) the barcode label (control), (2) the triangle label, and (3) the octagon label study arms. In all study arms, the participants were shown 22 food pictures (11 UPF and 11 UMPF) interspersed with 70 pictures from other affective categories in the IAPS catalog. The UPF contained one of the labels (barcode, triangle or octagon) depending on the study arm. After viewing each picture, the participants rated it according to two dimensions of emotion, namely, hedonic valence (pleasantness) and arousal.

resultsThe participants in study arm 1 (the control group) rated UPF pictures as more pleasant and more arousing than UMPF pictures did. When UPF contained a WL (octagon or triangle label), the participants rated the UPF pictures as being equally pleasant and arousing as the UMPF pictures were. WL (triangle or octagon) can potentially reduce the greater hedonic valence and arousal evoked by UPF relative to UMPF.

conclusionThe current study expands the understanding of how triangle and octagon warning labels (WL) may influence consumer perceptions and behaviors.

Indexed as

EmotionsFront-of-pack nutrition labelsNOVA classificationPublic healthUltra-processed foodsUnprocessed foods

Identifiers

PMID41795099
PMCPMC13081361

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.