Putting the Calorie Count Before the Cheeseburger - most unhealthy chain restaurant dishes

A provision in the Affordable Care Act, strongly supported by the Donald Trump administration, requires calorie labeling in the United StatesS.
Chain restaurant.
The basic idea is that if consumers are told they will reduce their calorie consumption. -
Improve their health.
Unfortunately, it is not clear at the moment whether the calorie label is good or not.
Some studies have found that consumers are not affected by these factors.
They eat whatever they like and they don't care about calories.
While other studies do find a real impact on people's behavior, experts question whether and to what extent these labels contribute to a healthier diet.
New research has found that a simple little approach can make a big difference: place the calorie tag on the left side of the menu item, not on the right.
This is an interesting discovery because it has an impact on the design choices of the private and public sectors in countless areas.
Researchers-
Steven Dallas of New York University, Peggy Liu of the University of Pittsburgh and Peter Ubel of Duke University ---
Three different experiments were conducted.
The first time was in a chain restaurant on the university campus.
About 150 participants were randomly assigned to one of three paper menus: no calorie information, calorie information on the right, and calorie information on the left.
Putting the information on the right has no effect.
But when the heat was placed on the left, the participants reduced the heat by up to 24. 4 percent.
The second study was an online survey of about 300 people who asked them to choose from the food on the menu.
About half see the calorie label on the left and half see the calorie label on the right.
Participants were also asked to name the factors that affected their choice (
Such as taste, size, price, value, heat, etc).
When the calorie information is placed on the left, people say they order much lower foodcalorie meals.
In addition, they are more likely to say that calories affect their choices.
The third study is the most ingenious.
The researchers recruited about 250 Hebrews.
Say the Israelis
Unlike English, Hebrew is read from right to left.
Dallas and his colleagues assume that for Hebrew speakers, their central findings will be reversed: if the calorie message is placed on the right, it will have a greater impact.
As with the first experiment, participants were divided into three groups: calories on the left, calories on the right, and no calorie information.
As with the second experiment, participants were investigated for their options.
When the heat is placed on the left, the person who speaks Hebrew is not affected;
The number of calories ordered is the same as in no-
Calorie status
However, when the heat is placed on the right side, the amount of heat ordered by the participant is significantly reduced.
Here is a simple explanation of these findings: What people first see has a great impact on them.
If they see the "cheese burger" first, they might think, "that's exactly what I want!
If they see "300 calories," they might think, "Okay, but that's exactly what I want!
If they see "300 calories" in the first place, they will most likely think, "That's a lot of calories.
If they see the "cheese burger" they might think, "Okay, but that's a lot of calories.
In other words, when we evaluate the second, third and fourth we see, what we first see on the menu or anywhere else may lead us and prove to be decisive.
As the authors have emphasized, their findings are preliminary.
Few samples.
The second and third experiments involved investigation, not actual behavior.
If people care only about or care most about taste, calorie labeling may not matter wherever it is placed.
Nevertheless, the findings are notable enough to justify the following reasons
Conduct research-and also to justify experiments in the private sector as well as in cities and states, and test whether calorie labeling has a greater impact when placed on the left.
Given the potential benefits of these experiments for public health, it should be done as early as possible.
There are broader lessons here.
Behavioral economist and Nobel Prize winner Richard seller emphasized the importance of the "so called irrelevant factor"-design details should not have an impact, but will vary.
If an item is listed first in a menu or some sort of list, it is more likely that people will choose it. (
Yes, the same is true for economists, choosing among high-tech papers in their field. )
In the private and public sectors, people are sometimes disappointed to find that their initiatives are not as effective in terms of health, safety and finance as they wish.
One reason is that they don't ask a key question: how do people deal with information?
If you ask this question, you can find a solution to the urgent problem.
Contact the author of this story: Cass R.
Csunstein1 @ bloomberg in sangstan ).
NetTo contacted the editor in charge of the story: Katie Roberts of kroberts29 @ bloomberg.