You can't "nudge" nuggets: An investigation of college late-night dining with behavioral economics interventions.

Samuel Bevet,Lizzy Pope,Meredith T Niles,Rebecca A Krukowski

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0198162

Abstract

A mixed-methods approach was used to evaluate and improve the “late-night dining” options in a university dining hall. Surveys assessed student desires for late-night offerings, and evaluated students’ habits and motivations during late-night dining. Two interventions were implemented to see if students could be “nudged” into different choice patterns. In the first, a “veggie-heavy” entrée was added at the beginning of the entrée line, so that students would substitute an entrée containing vegetables for the alternatives. In the second, a snack-food bar was set up to cater to students who didn’t want to stand in the long entrée line, and preferred a snack. Data on food choice was collected during the interventions. Survey responses showed significant differences in the reasons females and males utilized late-night dining (p<0.001). We also found that students at late-night dining had a lower emphasis on health than the general student population. Even students at late-night who reported being health-conscious showed no difference in food selections from students who said health was not important (p = 0.883). Veggie-heavy entrées had mild success in increasing vegetable selection. However, veggie-heavy entrées were largely ignored when the other option was chicken nuggets. The snack bar was very popular. Entrée placement and convenience lines may have mild impacts on food selection in a late-night dining environment.

Highlights

The American College Health Association reports that 33% of college students are overweight or obese [1], and American undergraduates often gain weight while at college [1]
Requests for fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains such as a salad bar, fruit bar, or grain bowls were classified as healthy options whereas options high in fat, sugar, or calories such as ice cream, fries, and Behavioral economics in college late-night dining chicken nuggets were classified as less healthy
We concluded that the stated importance of health on food selection did not have a relationship to actual student food choice

Summary

Introduction

The American College Health Association reports that 33% of college students are overweight or obese [1], and American undergraduates often gain weight while at college [1]. People who become obese or develop poor eating habits during childhood and young adulthood are more likely to struggle with these problems in adulthood [2,3]. This can lead to a variety of illnesses including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer [4]. Some research suggests calories consumed late at night contribute to greater weight gain than if the calories were consumed during the day, due to the body’s cyclical metabolism [8]. This means unhealthy late-night meals may be especially

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