Increasing Vegetable Intake by Emphasizing Tasty and Enjoyable Attributes: A Randomized Controlled Multisite Intervention for Taste-Focused Labeling
Bradley P. Turnwald, Jaclyn D. Bertoldo, Margaret A. Perry, Peggy Policastro, Maureen Timmons, Christopher Bosso, Priscilla Connors, Robert T. Valgenti, Lindsey Pine, Ghislaine Challamel, Christopher D. Gardner, Alia J. Crum
Psychological Science · 2019 · Volume 30 · Issue 11
Abstract
Healthy food labels tout health benefits, yet most people prioritize tastiness in the moment of food choice. In a preregistered intervention, we tested whether taste-focused labels compared with health-focused labels increased vegetable intake at five university dining halls throughout the United States. Across 137,842 diner decisions, 185 days, and 24 vegetable types, taste-focused labels increased vegetable selection by 29% compared with health-focused labels and by 14% compared with basic labels. Vegetable consumption also increased. Supplementary studies further probed the mediators, moderators, and boundaries of these effects. Increased expectations of a positive taste experience mediated the effect of taste-focused labels on vegetable selection. Moderation tests revealed greater effects in settings that served tastier vegetable recipes. Taste-focused labels outperformed labels that merely contained positive words, fancy words, or lists of ingredients. Together, these studies show that emphasizing tasty and enjoyable attributes increases vegetable intake in real-world settings in which vegetables compete with less healthy options.
Keywords
label, health, vegetable, nutrition, obesity, intervention, open data, preregistered
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