Visual Nudges Can Change Children's Food Choice Decision: What Next? A Systematic Review

Food choice decision develops throughout life and is affected by many internal and external cues. Recently, tools of behavioral economics have been used as external cues to bias food choice towards healthier foods. However looking at the effort only from the demand side would be incomplete. This paper will first collect evidence to report the success of applying behavioral economics’ tool in changing food choice decision. Second, it will collect evidences of efforts made by food companies to offer improved products by applying behavioral economics’ tools like nudging. Previous studies have looked at the impacts of applying behavioral economics’ in food consumption decision. This paper will add a needed dimension in looking at the efforts made by suppliers in changing food choice decision. As evidence the Sesame Workshop and Produce Marketing Association joined Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) to help promote fruits and vegetable consumption to kids. The present study is a needed supplement to what is already available in the literature.

Six databases were searched systematically for the search terms behavioral economics and lunchroom. Research reports with a predetermined behavioral economics intervention for school children with change in food choice decision and intake as an outcome variable were selected. This far the systematic review and narrative synthesis has been accomplished for research in school children. Systematic review and narrative analysis for efforts done by food suppliers using behavioral economics’ tools will be done to look at the supply-side efforts in promoting fruits and vegetables consumption through nudging.

A total of 23 (unduplicated) searches met the inclusion criteria. Increase in the consumption of healthier food option was reported in all. Four of them also reported the intervention to be low cost.

Key Words: Behavioral economics, lunchroom, food choice decision, nudging,