impact of environmental factors on individual food choices · pdf fileimpact of environmental...

© 2008, Johns Hopkins University. All rights reserved.

Impact of environmental factors

on individual food choices

Sara N Bleich, PhD

World Health Summit

October 21, 2012


Obesity Trends Among US Adults

BRFSS, 1990, 2000, 2010

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, CDC

2000

2010

1990

No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% ≥30%

© 2008, Johns Hopkins University. All rights reserved. Finucane MM, Stevens GA, Cowan MJ, et al. National, regional, and global trends in body-mass index since 1980: systematic analysis of health

examination surveys and epidemiological studies with 960 country-years and 9.1 million participants. Lancet 2011.


Outline

• Behavioral economics and food choice

• Impact of environmental factors on consumer food choices

• Implications for policy


We do not behave rationally

• Standard economic theory assumes that individuals maximize their own wellbeing BUT decisions that prevent individuals from reaching rationally intended goals play a significant role in food choices

• Individuals invest upwards of $40 billion dollars annually to restrict their own eating behavior in the form of diet plans

Klein S. Does paying for obesity therapy make cents? Gastroenterology. 2005; 128: 530.


Outline

• Behavioral economics and obesity

• Impact of environmental factors on consumer food choices



Portion sizes play a role in how much we eat

• People consume 30% more calories when offered the largest portion than when offered the smallest portion

• Larger portions led to greater calorie intake

Rolls BJ, Morris EL, Roe LS. Portion size of food affects energy intake in normal-weight and overweight men and women. The

American journal of clinical nutrition. Dec 2002;76(6):1207-1213


Visual cues influence consumption

Example: Give some people soup in self-refilling soup bowls, half had normal bowls; ask them to rate the soup and estimate how much they ate

• People given self refilling bowls ate 73% more

• The groups perceived that they ate the same amount

• Both groups thought they ate less

• People in the self refilling bowl condition did not feel more full

Wansink, B., Painter, J.E., North, J., 2005. Bottomless bowls: why visual cues of portion size may influence intake. Obes Res

13 (1), pp. 93-100.


Variety increases consumption

• Having many different choices (colors, flavors) increases consumption

• People offered an assortment of 10 colors of jellybeans ate 43% more than those offered 7 colors

• People offered the jellybeans in a mixed assortment ate 69% more than those offered jellybeans sorted by color

Wansink B. Environmental factors that increase the food intake and consumption volume of unknowing consumers. Annu Rev

Nutr 2004;24:455-79.


Impulse marketing

• Encourages spur-of-the-moment, emotion-related purchases that are triggered by seeing the product or a related message

• Goods placed in prominent end-of-aisle locations

account for about 30% of all supermarket sale1

• Vendors pay a slotting fee to retail markets to guarantee

that their products will be placed in these locations

• Placing products in prominent locations or spots

where consumers will see them at the end of their

shopping journey can increase their sales by as

much as a factor of five2

1Sorenson H. Inside the mind of the shopper. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, 2009. 2Curhan RC. The effects of merchandising and temporary promotional activities on the sales of fresh fruits and vegetables in

supermarkets. J Mark Res 1974;11:286-294


Why are we so responsive to the environment?

• People lack the capacity to fully control their eye gaze, and what they look at the longest is the strongest predictor of what we will buy

• Most purchasing decisions are made very quickly and automatically without substantial cognitive input, usually in less than a second

• Choices of foods high in fat and sugar are made more quickly than healthy food choices

• Even when trying to make healthful choices, our ability to

resist palatable foods declines when we are distracted, under

stress, tired, etc

• Most people don't recognize that the placement of products influences their purchases or eating behavior and typically deny the existence of contextual influences, even when they are pointed out

Wedel M, Pieters R. Visual marketing: from attention to action. New York: Taylor & Francis Group/Lawrence Erlbaum

Associates, 2008; Thomas M, Desai KK, Seenivasan S. How credit card payments increase unhealthy food purchases: visceral

regulation of vices. J Consumer Res 2011;38:126-139

l.


http://www.yalescientific.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/features-brainfood-1.jpg


Take home messages

• Food choices are often automatic and made without full conscious awareness

• Food choices DO NOT reflect true preferences

• A large proportion of people claim that they want to lose

weight but only a small proportion who are actually able

to do so → human behavior doesn't always conform

with states goals

• What and how much people eat are highly influenced by contextual factors that they may not recognize and therefore cannot easily resist

Cohen et al (2012). Candy at the Cash Register — A Risk Factor for Obesity and Chronic Disease. New England Journal of

Medicinel.


Outline

• Behavioral economics and obesity

• impact of environmental factors on consumer food choices



Behavioral economic principles for policy

change • Policies should encourage healthier eating without

restricting the choices available to the individual or reducing the profit opportunity of the food manufacturer

• Policies that address unconscious consumer behaviors may be effective in creating both greater profits for the marketer and better health outcomes for the consumer

Just, D.R., Payne, C.R., 2009. Obesity: Can Behavioral Economics Help? Annals of Behavioral Medicine 38 pp. S47-S55.l.


An example of a policy alternative based

on behavioral economics • Current US law prohibits marketers from claiming that a

certain type of packaging could discourage overeating

• This policy removes the possibility of marketers profiting from selling food packaged to reduce consumption

• A government agency could provide a third party certification for portion size norms similar to organic foods

• Therefore, a company that wishes to label their foods as a healthy portion would submit their packaged foods to a government process to determine if the packaging encourages healthy levels of consumption

Just, D.R., Payne, C.R., 2009. Obesity: Can Behavioral Economics Help? Annals of Behavioral Medicine 38 pp. S47-S55.l.


Research needed to inform policy

• More research needed to identify which marketing strategies place people at risk or undermine their health

• This kind of knowledge should be applied in informing

regulations that could govern the design and placement

of foods in retail outlets to protect consumers

• Test new approaches to reduce risk such as limiting the types of foods that can be displayed in prominent end-of-aisle locations

• Harnessing marketing research to control obesity could

help millions of people who desperately want to reduce

their risks of chronic diseases

Cohen et al (2012). Candy at the Cash Register — A Risk Factor for Obesity and Chronic Disease. New England Journal of

Medicine.

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