The Use of Metaphors in Dietary Visual Displays Around the World

Abstract

Many countries have developed visual displays summarizing key scientific information on diet and health for the general public. The article analyzes the use of metaphors in dietary visual displays in seven countries. The objective is to examine how spatial organization and its graphical representation reflect conceptual organization. It investigates the correspondences between metaphors, schemas and visual depictions in the diagrams vis-à-vis the nutrition concepts they stand for: Do the displays foster understanding of dietary information? Do they support perceptual inferences? Do they facilitate decision-making in food consumption?