Information signals impacting perceptions of gluten-free diets

Understanding how people assimilate different types of information for
food choices is integral to improving knowledge about diet and human
health. This study evaluates the impact that ten information signals have
on the perceived healthiness of gluten. Signals include non-social signals
like personal eating experiences, scientific studies, and advice from
doctors, but also includes social signals like recommendations from
attractive people, social media, the layout of a grocery store, and
celebrities. In a survey of over 1,000 Americans, advice from an
attractive person is thought to have a slightly larger impact than reading
about a new study regarding gluten, and seeing a grocery store develop a
new gluten-free section has a larger impact than learning a celebrity
consumes a gluten-free diet.