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Could Behavioral Economics Help Improve Diet Quality for Nurtition
Assistance Program Participants?
David R. Just, Lisa Mancino, and Brian Wansink
Economic Research Report No. (ERR-43), June 2007
As obesity has come to the forefront of public health concerns,
there is growing interest in finding ways to guide consumers’
food choices to be more beneficial for their long-term health.
About one in five Americans participates in at least one of
the nutrition assistance programs sponsored by the U.S. Department
ofAgriculture. This study uses behavioral economics, food marketing,
and psychology to identify possible options for improving the
diets and health of participants in the Food Stamp Program;
the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants,
and Children (WIC); and the National School Lunch and School
Breakfast Programs.
What Is the Issue?
USDA and other public health agencies historically have provided
recommendations on how to make food choices that promote health
and prevent disease. Food manufacturers and marketers, on the
other hand, have discovered that certain psychological cues,
such as packaging and presentation, are efficient ways to increase
consumption of their products. Could similar marketing approaches
be used in public health efforts to improve diet quality and
reduce body weight among U.S. food assistance program participants?
Insights from behavioral economics shed light on several factors
that could help economists and policymakers better understand
food choices. In 2005, over half of all nutrition assistance
program participants were children. Many notions about what
is good or acceptable to eat are determined in childhood. Improving
diet quality among these nutrition program participants has
the potential to guide food choices at a critical time, when
a child’s dietary preferences are being defined.
What Did the Study Find?
This study incorporates findings from behavioral economics,
food marketing, and psychology to propose insights into how
people make food decisions. Recognizing that consumption choices
are determined by factors other than prices, income, and information
broadens the array of strategies that could influence consumer
food choices and improve diet and health. This exploration of
new ideas, however, is by no means a recommendation or endorsement
of any of them. A thorough analysis of costs, benefits, and
potential impacts would be needed before any strategy could
be considered as a policy option.
People have problems of self-control when choosing
food, either because they prefer immediate gratification
or because they are under the influence of a visceral factor,
such as feeling hungry. Allowing them to preselect more healthful
choices may be effective. For example, letting students preselect
menu options in the National School Lunch or School Breakfast
Programs or giving food stamp participants the option to preorder
groceries by telephone or online may improve the healthfulness
of their food choices.
People place more weight on default options.” Another idiosyncrasy of consumer choice frequently observed
in experimental studies is that individuals exhibit an asymmetry
in how they value gains relative to losses. This asymmetry gives
rise to anomalous behavior, where individuals are willing to
pay much less to acquire an item than they are willing to accept
to part with it. It also makes them much more likely to choose
the default options, even when the costs of switching to an
alternative are low or even zero. Making the default menu option
of school meals more healthful, such as a fruit salad instead
of French fries, may increase the likelihood that they will
choose more healthful foods.
People categorize income into mental accounts. “Mental accounting” helps explain why coupons that
can be used only for food purchases have been shown to be more
effective at raising food spending among food stamp participants
than an equal benefit amount of cash. If funds are earmarked
for a specific purpose, recipients spend within a certain category
until funds are entirely depleted. Specifying amounts of food
stamp allotments that go toward the purchase of healthful foods,
such as fruits, dark green vegetables, and whole grains, may
be another option for improving diet quality of program participants.
People undervalue fixed costs relative to variable
costs. When only certain items can be selected
using prepayment (fixed costs), those items will be chosen more
often than those that can be purchased only with cash (variable
costs). In the school meals programs, for instance, students,
in conjunction with parents or guardians, could specify that
only more healthful items be purchased with prepaid cards.
Food decisions are often based more on emotion than
rational thought. Impulsive behavior, such
as choosing less healthy foods over healthier foods, may result
from how the food is presented, the presence of stress, or other
demands on an individual’s “processing” ability.
When processing resources are low, it is more likely that an
individual will make consumption choices based solely on immediate
considerations. Drawing attention to more healthful foods—by
making them more accessible or displaying them more prominently
in school cafeterias—might mitigate the effects of a distracting
environment and increase the likelihood that students choose
more healthful menu options.
External cues can have a major effect on the food selected,
the amount consumed, and the eater’s
perception of how much was consumed. Noise levels, lighting, and distractions, as well as the size
and shape of foods and food containers, affect how much people
eat. Adjusting these factors can have a major impact on how
much is eaten for a meal or snack. Reducing the number of students
seated at each table or making school cafeterias more brightly
lit are possible options that might help students better monitor
their actual consumption.
How Was the Study Conducted?
This study incorporates findings from behavioral economics,
food marketing, and psychology to explore various methods of
improving individuals’ diets and health. Within the context
of USDA nutrition assistance programs, such as food stamps,
WIC, and the school meals programs, these findings provide an
opportunity to begin thinking of new ways to encourage program
participants to choose diets that are better aligned with their
own goals for future health.
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