As most Americans spend at least 50%of their food budget dining out,public criticism falls on restaurants to help consumers make healthier food choices.The Menu Labeling Final Rule has come into effect,requiring restaurants with more than 20 locations to show the calories of food on menus.
By representing these values in a discrepant way—using physically larger numbers on the page for lower-calorie options,and smaller numbers for high-calorie foods— businesses can shift customers 'preferences toward healthier food,according to Ruiying Cai from the Washington State University.
In their study,Cai and her colleagues asked participants to choose between a less healthy item and a healthier option after randomly assigning them to two groups.In the first group,calorie counts and font (字体) sizes rose and fell together.In the second group,the size became larger as the calorie count fell.Researchers also asked participants questions to assess their health-consciousness.
Results showed participants in the second group,who saw low calorie counts printed in large sizes,were more likely to adopt the healthier option.Moreover,less health- conscious participants were the most affected,while people with more health awareness were less influenced since they already favored healthier food.
This research adjusted customer behaviors by creating a Stroop effect.Named after psychologist J.Ridley Stroop,the Stroop effect refers to a delay in reaction to mismatch in its classic form.For example,if the word"purple"is written in green,it takes respondents longer time to identify the color than if the word and the color match. Similarly,the effect is observed when the physical size of the number does not match its number in this study.
"Restaurants are interested in encouraging customers to make healthier choices," Cai said.However,simply labeling the food as healthy may not have the intended effect. "Healthy food items could be profitable for restaurants,but whenever a ‘healthy' label is attached,people may assume it does not taste good,"she explained."We're trying to provide restaurants with indirect suggestions,rather than saying it out loud."
