Can we encourage healthier choices by the way we display food options?

Does the way in which meals is displayed affect the alternatives you make? Given worldwide considerations associated to weight problems, it’s important to grasp elements that have an effect on healthful consumption.

The outcomes of our recent experiments present that displaying wholesome meals to the left of an unhealthy possibility can affect the choice and consumption quantity of the more healthy alternative. Since managers usually have appreciable flexibility by way of how they show meals objects in shops and restaurant menus, they will use this to design optimum menu codecs to go well with their gross sales targets.

The outcomes of our research reveal that when a wholesome and an unhealthy merchandise are organized laterally, there’s comparatively better choice for the wholesome possibility when it’s exhibited to the left (vs. proper) of the unhealthy possibility. Why does this occur? We discovered that customers’ pure tendency is to mentally arrange wholesome objects (e.g., grilled hen) to the left of unhealthy objects (e.g., fried hen). Therefore, a meals show that’s congruent with this pure psychological illustration facilitates info processing, which in flip enhances self-control, and finally results in comparatively greater chance of selecting wholesome choices.

In one of many experiments, half the contributors acquired a menu the place the wholesome objects (e.g., salads) had been exhibited to the left of the unhealthy objects (e.g., burgers), whereas the opposite half of the contributors acquired a menu with the other show sample. The determine beneath illustrates the menu used. Members had been then requested to point their choice for one meals merchandise from the menu. The outcomes confirmed that there was better choice for the wholesome objects after they had been exhibited to the left (vs. proper) of the unhealthy objects on the menu.

We additionally discovered that even the consumption quantity of wholesome and unhealthy objects are influenced by left-right positions of wholesome/unhealthy objects. Earlier than bringing within the contributors to the lab, a wholesome beverage (high-vitamin orange juice) was positioned to the left (vs. proper) of an unhealthy beverage (high-calorie orange soda) primarily based on the place the contributors could be seated. The drinks had comparable colour and texture. Members had been then instructed to drink as a lot of every beverage as they needed. Consumption quantity was measured by weighing the cups earlier than and after consumption. The outcomes of this experiment confirmed that contributors consumed a better quantity of the wholesome beverage when it was positioned to the left (vs. proper) of the unhealthy beverage.

Selecting between wholesome and unhealthy choices usually entails buying and selling off between short-term advantages by way of style/pleasure and long-term advantages by way of well being/effectively being. Because of this, self-control performs an influential position in figuring out closing alternative end result between wholesome and unhealthy choices. Our analysis reveals that laterally displaying wholesome choices to the left (than to the correct) of unhealthy choices is congruent with their pure psychological illustration. This facilitates processing of the data and enhances self-control, which in flip will increase chance of selecting the wholesome possibility.

This might have fascinating implications for retail product shows and menu designs. For example, if a retailer needs to boost gross sales of their wholesome objects, they will show them to the left (vs. proper) of the unhealthy choices from the patron’s visible perspective. Equally, whereas designing restaurant menus, a restaurant wanting to boost gross sales of wholesome meals objects would possibly wish to show the wholesome objects on the left aspect of the menu and the unhealthy objects on the correct aspect. With rising traits in the direction of specializing in wholesome consuming, optimum menu designs will help restaurant managers and client advocates in influencing gross sales of wholesome versus unhealthy objects. The truth is, given the restricted analysis within the educational literature on the psychological points of menu designs, this is a vital step on this path by figuring out how lateral show patterns of wholesome/unhealthy objects on a menu can doubtlessly affect alternative.

The findings even have implications for client welfare by way of facilitating wholesome alternative habits. Coverage makers and shoppers would possibly wish to promote having wholesome objects exhibited to the left (vs. proper) of unhealthy objects as a way to nudge more healthy meals selections and consumption.

Featured picture credit score: market fruits greens meals by StockSnap. Public area by way of Pixabay.