Smart food choice “nudges” promote public health, new research reveals

16 Feb 2024 --- Implicit changes in the marketing and sales of food nudging the general public to make healthier dietary choices are effective, a new study by the Universities of Göttingen and Bonn, Germany, suggests. However, the researchers find that nudges must be popular among consumers.

“Understanding public support — and its drivers — is important for designing politically viable, ethical and effective nudges,” says first author Simone Wahnschafft of Göttingen University’s sustainable food systems research group.

Such nudges can be as simple as printing low-calorie options in bold on menus or offering clients a sugar-free option. 

“We were surprised to find that the personal circumstances of our participants and whether their own behavior would be affected by the nudge had little effect on their support. We found that the perception of upholding free choice and of effectiveness were key to public support,” Wahnschafft points out.

The researchers conclude that the two most promising approaches policymakers and other relevant stakeholders in the food industry should take into account when attempting to improve public support are to improve the transparency of the nudge and to reduce the effort customers must make to avoid the nudged option. 

Consumer attitudes 
The new study published in BMC Public Health sets out to investigate public acceptance of popular food choice default nudges, which have already been demonstrated to be effective in improving the healthfulness of choices and public perception of this increasingly popular approach to public health.  

The survey included a sample of 451 participants living in Germany, representative of the country’s adult population in terms of age, gender and income. They were presented with five nudge scenarios and asked to rate their support for each one, as well as to indicate what their usual behavior would be when faced with the nudge in question. 

The participants were further questioned as to what extent they perceive the given scenarios as intruding on their freedom of choice and if they think the nudge effectively affects consumer choice. 

The same questions were asked for a variety of different nudge scenarios with only one different aspect of the design. This allowed the researchers to identify how design variations may impact public support for nudges. 

Some nudges were met with more support than others. For example, the participants indicated that they are more willing to support the option of being presented with vegetarian dishes on the first pages of a menu and meat dishes at the back of the same menu. 

The alternative option, which was met with less support, was to be given a menu with only vegetarian options and a separate menu with meat options being available upon request. 

Public attitudes toward these two scenarios, among others, led scientists to conclude that improving transparency and reducing the effort needed to opt out of a nudge increases public support for this approach to improving healthfulness.

The researchers further point out that taking these findings into account could also improve the cost-effectiveness of public health nudges. 

They note the need for further studies to determine the “sweet spots” for default nudges that are effective and accepted by the public, noting the importance of individual freedom of choice. 

By Milana Nikolova