Nudging healthier food choices in a cafeteria setting: A sequential multi-intervention field study

Abstract

Creating more health-fostering environments is high on the agenda of public and private actors. The behavioral approach to nudge people towards healthier food choices is gaining popularity despite limited understanding about where, and for whom, which specific nudges work. This study contributes by reporting on three different nudging interventions in the same setting and presents effects on different sub-populations. We find overall small effects that are heterogeneous, ranging from robustly more to even less healthy choices. We discuss the importance of transparency and reactance to health interventions and the potential interplay of interventions with habitual behavior among different sub-populations.

Keywords: Cafeteria; Food choice; Habits; Health nudges; Reactance.