Food Choice Architecture: An Intervention in a Secondary School and its Impact on Students' Plant-based Food Choices.

Hannah Ensaff,Pinki Sahota,Matt Homer,Helen Mcleod,Debbie Braybrook,Susan Coan

doi:10.3390/nu7064426

Hannah Ensaff, Pinki Sahota + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/nu7064426

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Abstract

With growing evidence for the positive health outcomes associated with a plant-based diet, the study’s purpose was to examine the potential of shifting adolescents’ food choices towards plant-based foods. Using a real world setting of a school canteen, a set of small changes to the choice architecture was designed and deployed in a secondary school in Yorkshire, England. Focussing on designated food items (whole fruit, fruit salad, vegetarian daily specials, and sandwiches containing salad) the changes were implemented for six weeks. Data collected on students’ food choice (218,796 transactions) enabled students’ (980 students) selections to be examined. Students’ food choice was compared for three periods: baseline (29 weeks); intervention (six weeks); and post-intervention (three weeks). Selection of designated food items significantly increased during the intervention and post-intervention periods, compared to baseline (baseline, 1.4%; intervention 3.0%; post-intervention, 2.2%) χ2(2) = 68.1, p < 0.001. Logistic regression modelling also revealed the independent effect of the intervention, with students 2.5 times as likely (p < 0.001) to select the designated food items during the intervention period, compared to baseline. The study’s results point to the influence of choice architecture within secondary school settings, and its potential role in improving adolescents’ daily food choices.

Highlights

Adolescents’ diet in the UK is high in saturated fat and sugar, along with low fruit and vegetable consumption [1]; generally marked by poor food choice, a propensity for fast or grab-and-go foods has been illustrated in previous studies [2,3,4]
Intervention fidelity was assessed through close liaison with the school, including a series of observation visits during the intervention period, as well as interim data analysis
When comparing the three time periods in year 2013–2014 (Y1) (2013–2014) to the equivalent weeks in year 2012–2013 (Y0) (2012–2013), the pattern of food selection was more different for the intervention and post-intervention periods at the intervention school—reflected in the accompanying effect sizes, which were moderate and progressively larger during the intervention and post-intervention periods compared to baseline

Summary

Introduction

Adolescents’ diet in the UK is high in saturated fat and sugar, along with low fruit and vegetable consumption [1]; generally marked by poor food choice, a propensity for fast or grab-and-go foods has been illustrated in previous studies [2,3,4]. Governments are exploring nudge theory and its exploitation over the imposition of government legislation This is the case, where strong armed regulation is not perceived as the answer, for example in food choice where lifestyle factors clearly impact on a nation’s health [8]

Results

Discussion

Conclusion