Misconceptions about Organic Foods' Calories Uncovered

ANN ARBOR, MI While organic labels specify a claim about a foods production lower levels of conventional pesticides and synthetic additivesthey indicate nothing about calorie content. However, consumers wrongly assume organic foods contain fewer calories than their conventional counterparts, according to a new study from the University of Michigan. They also think that eating organic means a person can exercise less, and these misconceptions can lead to overeating, weight gain and a host of other health issues.

According to the study, a number of different theories suggest that organic claims might bias and specifically, reducecalorie judgments. This might be due to strong associations between the concepts organic and natural with healthy, and that consumers might even substitute the attribute healthy for organic as a means for simplifying complex calorie judgments.

In a study published in Junes Judgment and Decision Making, Norbert Schwarz, professor of marketing at the U-M Ross School of Business, and U-M colleague Jonathon Schuldt showed more than 100 study participants nutrition information for a regular Oreo cookie and for a similar cookie made with organic flour and sugar. The products nutritional label clearly showed a serving size (two cookies) of 160 calories for both sandwich cookies. However, 38% of the participants thought the organic cookie had fewer calories than competing brands, whereas only 12% thought there was a caloric difference when the cookies did not carry the organic claim.

"Presumably, participants inferred that if organic cookies contain 160 calories, then the calorie content of conventional cookieswhatever the precise amountis likely to be higher," said Schwarz in a press release. "In addition, participants considered it appropriate to consume Oreo cookies more frequently when they were organic than when they were not."

 Schuldt and Schwarz also examined whether the influence of organic claims extend beyond conclusions about the food itself to beliefs about requirements for physical exerciseanother factor contributing to America's obesity crisis. The study asked more than 200 study participants whether a female college student trying to lose weight could skip a daily post-dinner run if she ate an organic dessert or a conventional nonorganic dessert (either a small bowl of ice cream or a chocolate chip cookie) or skipped dessert. The study participants responded that organic dessert or no dessert at all compared to if she ate the conventional dessert

The researchers concluded by saying, these findings suggest that organic claims not only foster lower calorie estimates and higher consumption intentions, but that they might also convey that one has already made progress toward ones weight-loss goal, thus undermining subsequent goal-consistent action.