Health Communication Literacy Counseling through Health Halo Effect Education in the Formation of Food Product Image in Senior High School Students

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FORMOSA NEWS - Jakarta - Health Halo Effect Education Teaches High School Students to Critically Evaluate Packaged Food Claims. A team of researchers and academics from Universitas Bunda Mulia (UBM) conducted an online health communication literacy counseling program for 100 senior high school students in Jakarta in 2026. Led by Surianto alongside Ahya Radiatul Kamila, Very Budiyanto, Alaniah Nisrina, and Agung Stefanus Kembau, the study reveals how modern marketing strategies create a artificial "healthy" image for food and beverage products through a cognitive bias known as the Health Halo Effect. The findings highlight an urgent need to protect young consumers from deceptive visual and verbal claims embedded in Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) packaging.

Background and the Mechanics of the Health Halo Effect
In the fiercely competitive FMCG sector, Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) strategies no longer rely solely on a product’s core functional attributes. Manufacturers increasingly use symbolic cues such as imagery of athletes, active sports themes, vibrant packaging colors, and persuasive terms like "high calcium," "source of vitamins," and "active lifestyle". These symbolic elements trigger what behavioral scientists term the Health Halo Effect—a cognitive bias where a single positive attribute leads consumers to judge the entire product as healthy. Teenagers are particularly susceptible to this cognitive bias due to their high daily exposure to digital media and growing independence in purchasing choices, paired with a still-developing capacity to evaluate persuasive advertising tactics critically.

Participatory Counseling Methodology
To build critical thinking and reduce reliance on visual cues, the Universitas Bunda Mulia research team utilized a participatory educational approach combined with problem-based learning over a video conferencing platform. The interactive counseling was structured into four distinct modules:

• Introduction to Cognitive Bias: Educating students on how the Halo Effect influences human perception in everyday life, causing impressions to overshadow objective evaluation.
  
• FMCG Marketing Case Analysis: Guiding students through a case study of dairy brand XYZ. The session demonstrated how color choices, athletic illustrations, and lifestyle branding foster a healthy image without the brand making explicit health claims.
  
• Deconstructing Visuals vs. Facts: Teaching students to separate symbolic brand imagery from actual, verifiable nutritional data.
  
• Health Communication Literacy and Verification: Training students to locate, read, and evaluate nutrition information panels, ingredient lists, and packaging claims prior to purchasing food products.
  

Key Research Findings

Following the four-part intervention, the researchers conducted a post-test using content analysis to measure changes in the participants' analytical mindset. The primary findings include:

• Shift in Consumer Mindset: Post-test responses showed a substantial shift in how students evaluated products, moving away from immediate trust in visual packaging or brand reputation.
  
• Commitment to Nutritional Verification: A clear majority of participants indicated that before consuming packaged food, consumers must read the nutrition facts label, check the ingredients list, and verify packaging claims.
  
• Enhanced Persuasion Awareness: Students successfully identified that brand marketing messages do not necessarily reflect the true nutritional profile of a product.
  

Societal Implications and Policy Impact
This intervention demonstrates that integrating health communication literacy into youth education yields immediate, real-world benefits. Understanding cognitive biases like the Health Halo Effect supports broader public health, educational, and regulatory goals:

• For Young Consumers and Society: Promotes evidence-based purchasing decisions, helping young people avoid hidden sugars or excessive ad-ins masked behind "healthy" branding.
  
• For Secondary Education: Provides a template for schools to embed critical media literacy and health communication modules into standard high school curricula.
  
• For Industry Regulators: Underlines the necessity for regulatory bodies to enforce clearer nutritional labeling standardizations on FMCG items to prevent misleading health associations.
  

As Surianto and the research team from Universitas Bunda Mulia emphasized in their report, educating youth on the mechanisms of perception formation helps adolescents distinguish between images built through marketing communication and factual information about a product.

Author Profiles
Surianto, S.E., M.M. — Lecturer and researcher at Universitas Bunda Mulia specializing in Marketing Communication, Consumer Behavior, and Health Communication Literacy.
Ahya Radiatul Kamila — Academic and researcher at Universitas Bunda Mulia focusing on communication studies and media dynamics.
Very Budiyanto — Academic at Universitas Bunda Mulia with expertise in integrated communication strategies and consumer decision-making processes.
Alaniah Nisrina — Communication researcher at Universitas Bunda Mulia studying communication literacy and digital media.
Agung Stefanus Kembau — Lecturer and researcher at Universitas Bunda Mulia specializing in digital media literacy and youth consumer engagement.

Source
Surianto, Ahya Radiatul Kamila, Very Budiyanto, Alaniah Nisrina, Agung Stefanus Kembau. Health Communication Literacy Counseling through Health Halo Effect Education in the Formation of Food Product Image in Senior High School Students. Asian Journal of Community Services (AJCS), Vol. 5, No. 8, Tahun 2026, Halaman 531–540
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55927/ajcs.v5i8.57
URL: https://journalajcs.my.id/index.php/ajcs