The Effects of a Health Risk Assessment on Workplace Cafeteria Purchases

Health risk assessments are increasingly widespread across the U.S., and firms are investing heavily in their implementation and incentives for employee participation. There is limited evidence, however, of their effects on health behavior, a crucial step towards reducing long-run health costs. Using a unique dataset combining health assessment results, prior knowledge about health risks, and workplace cafeteria purchases, we test whether the information employees receive about their cholesterol levels affects their eating behavior. We find that individuals informed of their high cholesterol levels reduce their cafeteria spending, calories, and saturated fat. These reductions are largest among those learning that they have high cholesterol for the first time. However, the changes we estimate are modest, corresponding to at most one-third of the NIH-recommended dietary change for persons with high cholesterol. While modestly sized, the effects persist over four months and suggest the information provided by HRAs can be useful to employees.