Posted: February 1, 2021
Environmental cues shape behaviour, but few studies compare the impact of targeting healthier vs. less-healthy cues. We looked at whether 417 participants choose a healthier or less-healthy snack when offered one of the following selections: equal number of healthier and less-healthy options (2 of each); increased healthier options (6 healthier and 2 less-healthy); or increased less-healthy options (2 healthier and 6 less-healthy).
We found no evidence of a statistically significant difference between increasing healthier or less-healthy options: The odds of selecting a less-healthy snack were 2.9 times higher when less-healthy options were increased, and the odds of selecting a healthier snack were 2.5 times higher when healthier options increased. We also explored whether people from different socio-economic groups responded differently. The direction of effects was consistent (albeit not statistically significant) with a larger impact when healthier options were increased for higher-educated participants; and a larger impact when less-healthy options were increased for lower-educated participants. If replicated in larger studies, this could suggest that removing less-healthy options could reduce health inequalities caused by unhealthier diets. Conversely, adding healthier options could have the potential to increase these inequalities.
