The Application of Optimal Defaults to Improve Elementary School Lunch Selections: Proof of Concept |
| |
| Authors: | Katharine L Loeb PhD Cynthia Radnitz PhD Kathleen L Keller PhD Marlene B Schwartz PhD Nancy Zucker PhD Sue Marcus PhD Richard N Pierson MD Michael Shannon MEd Danielle DeLaurentis BA |
| |
| Institution: | 1. School of Psychology, Fairleigh Dickinson University, 1000 River Road, T‐WH1‐01, Teaneck, NJ 07666;2. Department of Nutritional Sciences and Food Science, Pennsylvania State University, 321 Chandlee Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802;3. Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Connecticut, 1 Constitution Plaza, Suite 600, Hartford, CT 06103;4. Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, P.O. Box 3842, Durham, NC 27710;5. 628 W. Ellet Street, Philadelphia, PA 19119;6. Columbia University, St Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital, 1111 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10025;7. Northern New Jersey Community Foundation, 1 Grand Avenue, Ste. 3, Englewood, NJ 07631 |
| |
| Abstract: | BACKGROUND In this study, we applied behavioral economics to optimize elementary school lunch choices via parent‐driven decisions. Specifically, this experiment tested an optimal defaults paradigm, examining whether strategically manipulating the health value of a default menu could be co‐opted to improve school‐based lunch selections. METHODS The design was a randomized comparison of optimal versus suboptimal (standard) default lunch menus for all first‐graders in a school district for a period of 1 week. We hypothesized that making the default lunch option healthier, while providing parents the opportunity to access and choose from the standard school menu for their child, would yield more frequent selection of healthier items than when the default option was suboptimal. RESULTS Overall, 127 (93%) first‐grade children's families participated. Among those families randomized to receive the nutritionally optimized default menu, all but one remained with these options; of those parents randomized to the standard menu (suboptimal default), all parents remained with these options (Χ2 = 123.06, df = 1, p < .001). CONCLUSIONS The mere positioning of choices, without restricting options, significantly affected which menu items the children received during the test period. Results are proof of concept for a strategy to increase health‐promoting school lunch content, procedures, and policies. |
| |
| Keywords: | behavioral economics school food services school lunch |
|
|
