‘Language is the source of misunderstandings’–impact of terminology on public perceptions of health promotion messages

Table 1 Language used by an indicative sample of large supermarkets to communicate the concept of ‘healthy options’ as opposed to ‘diet ranges’ (product ranges aimed at people seeking weight loss/management)

Supermarket or brand	Name of product range	Type of product
Sainsbury’s	Deliciously Balanced	Healthy option
Sainsbury’s	My Goodness	Diet range
Tesco	Light Choices	Diet range
Tesco	Healthy living	Healthy option
Waitrose	Love life – you count…	Diet range
Waitrose	Perfectly balanced (now withdrawn)	Healthy option
Marks & Spencer	Delicious & Nutritious	Healthy option
Marks & Spencer	Fuller for Longer	Diet range
Eat Balanced	Nutritionally balanced	Healthy option
Safeway	Eating right	Diet range
Asda	Good for you	Diet range
Morrisons	NuMe	Diet range
Co-op	Healthier choice	Diet range

ISSN: 1471-2458