26
Will posting calorie labels help?
The label on the packaging of a sandwich shows its nutritional value.
To view this content, Javascript must be enabled and Adobe Flash Player must be installed.
Dan Ariely
TEXT OF INTERVIEW
Kai Ryssdal: There was clearly a lot in the health care bill. Some of which is complicated health policy stuff, and some of which is more simple. One of the seemingly simple things was a requirement that restaurants post nutrition information in plain sight. Theory being that it'll get us to make better food choices and hopefully prevent some of problems that come with unhealthy eating.
Dan Ariely teaches behavioral economy at Duke University. He points out that what seems simple is not always so. Dan, it's good to talk to you again.
DAN ARIELY: Same here.
Ryssdal: All right, so let's cut to the chase. These calorie labels that we are seeing in some places, and now we'll see in way more places, do they work?
ARIELY: So far the evidence is no. You put them up, and you would think that they would be very helpful, right? You tell people what the calories are, but all the research done so far, ours and other people, show that this doesn't work. Basically we got the help of one fast-food Chinese place, we had them holed off for a while, so we could track what people were doing. Then they put calorie labeling, we tracked what people were doing. Turns out the effect is very, very close to zero.
Ryssdal: All right, why?
ARIELY: So I think there are two main reasons. The first one is that the number is not very informative. Do you know how much calories you are supposed to eat?
Ryssdal: Yeah, no, I have no idea. It's like, I don't know, 2,000... 4,000? I don't know, I don't know.
ARIELY: And what you're supposed to eat, are you eating close to that?
Ryssdal: Again, I don't know.
ARIELY: You have any feeling about how much you're eating?
Ryssdal: Not a single clue.
ARIELY: That's right. So that I think is the first point is that we tell people what the numbers are, but the number itself is not very informative. The second reason is that we are getting people who already made a decision about which restaurant to enter. So if you go into McDonald's or you go into a fast-food Chinese place, you're not going to look at the board and say, oh my goodness, I didn't know these places were so calorie full, let me go somewhere else.
Ryssdal: I'm shocked.
ARIELY: I'm shocked, let me go somewhere else.
Ryssdal: OK, so assuming I walk in the door thinking I'm going to have orange chicken or whatever it is, regardless of what the sign says, how do you get people to change their behavior?
ARIELY: OK, that's the next thing we did, which is after being disappointed with the calorie labeling, we said so what can we do. And if you think about it what lots of fast-food places do is that they give you a lot of cheap, free calories that make the portions look big. Rice, or noodles, or a big order of french fries. All of those things are calorie full, they make the meal look bigger, they don't cost much, and they get you to have many, many more calories. So we asked people if they would be willing to take half a portion of rice if we give them a discount for 25 cents, and about 40 percent of the people went for this offer. Now, we did this for a while. Imagine that we're doing it for a couple of weeks, and everybody get used to this deal, and so on, and then we take the deal away. Turns out under those conditions nobody asks for it. Nobody says, hey, last week you did this, can you give me less rice? Now they get the full amount of rice, and what do they do? They finish the whole amount. So people not only need this nudge, this reminder, but they need to have it at the right moment when they're tempted, and they're not coming up with it themselves.
Ryssdal: All right, but here's the thing if I'm running that Chinese restaurant, and I can give you cheap, free calories with a lot of rice and get my extra 25 cents, it cuts into my profit margin if you take away the rice.
ARIELY: That's right. Now the rest of them have to decide what they want to do. So we tried another promotion in which we just offered people if they wanted half the amount of rice. There was no financial incentive in it. And guess what, almost the same amount of people took the half portion of rice even when there was no payment involved with it.
Ryssdal: One more question. What happens when these calorie notices, as they inevitably will, fade into the observational background, when people no longer see them because they've been up there for so long, then what's going to happen?
ARIELY: Well, you know, there's no effect now, so how could get it worse? It was a really nice idea, really thoughtful idea to create it. It turns out it doesn't work. That's OK. But I don't see why now we're going to create all this regulation that is forcing everybody to do this basically useless thing of putting these calorie labels up.
Ryssdal: Dan Ariely teaches behavioral economics at Duke University. His book is called "Predictably Irrational." Dan, thanks a lot.
ARIELY: My pleasure.
Pages
Dan forgot to point out:once educated, did these consumers return the next day for unhealthy food? Did they change their order if they did come back?
Free markets only work when the consumer is educated. Information costs have to be low, for that to happen on a broad range. It doesn't mean that humans will still overcome a short term gain to make a long term choice...but the information costs must still be low for the free market to claim any legitimacy. The commentator did know what level of calories he needs to consume in a day, so he is an educated consumer. And who told him over and over again, what that amount was?
chances are, tax-payer funded PSA's.
Very disappointed with this interview. I wished the calorie and sodium info were available here in NC for all restaurants. I use the numbers to plan for my consumption, even in a last minute restaurant decision. My daily calorie estimate is 2200-2500, depending on physical activity. I reduced this to 1700 to lose weight, and after 17 weeks and -25.5 pounds, the numbers (with exercise) work. I still can eat anything I want, just within the daily numbers with portion control. If I go over, I reduce before or after to average my calorie count.
I think if there is one place that these calorie counts would be useful, it is in New York. I think that this new law provides options which are always desirable. One can simply ignore them, or one can take the time to read the calorie counts. I personally do read it, dont always take it into consideration, but I do appreciate its presence.
In some instances it has changed my decision making for the better which I am grateful for. My friend who is trying to improve herself uses those calorie counts to meet daily calorie counts, and i know she finds them extremely helpful (i've also seen a lot of improvement in her appearance!). I believe that these calorie counts create a more aware/conscious and hopefully more healthy environment.
I was shocked at the Hubris Dan Ariely displayed in his analysis of the usefulness of restaurant food labeling. When Ariely asked you how many calories you should be consuming you gave a reasonably close answer of somewhere between 2000 and 4000. So you did know. And now after leaving a restaurant you'll know how many calories you just consumed. Restaurant food labeling may not influence what you order, but at least you will be able to determine the rest of your daily caloric needs. Some studies have shown that labels do influence purchases. To use one, I'm assuming non-published, study to illustrate a point is not good science. Come on Kai.
In Washington State we have that law in effect. Seeing the calorie numbers right next to the food item is a huge eye opener. While it is true that I may not leave and search for a salad bar somewhere else, it definitely effects my decision to return. Just yesterday I was floored at the calorie content of a certain fast food item and changed my order to something else with a lower number (which was ultimately less fattening). I personally feel that since I've started paying attention to this that it has positively affected my eating habits outside of restaurants too.
Professor Ariely's observations fit nicely with an argument I have been having with the Atlanta Journal Constitution's food critic, John Kessler, on his blog. It seems to me that restaurant reviews should post general nutritional information about the eatery as well as the caloric, fat, sodium and carbohydrate content of the food ordered by the critics and their guests. That would alert potential diners whether a particular restaurant is appropriate for their health needs, since once there, per the professor, we eat whatever they serve us.
Having read Dan's book "Predictably Irrational" I realize he is speaking of statistically significant effects of posting calorie counts.
However on a personal level it has had a very meaningful positive impact on me. Having been told by my doctor that I must lose weight to maintain my health I used a regimen of diet and exercise to lose 30 pounds and keep it off for a year now. The positive effect to my health has been significant.
What most Americans don't realize (or don't want to admit) is that weight control is simple. The information on how many calories we need to limit ourselves to in order to maintain weight is readily available. When this number is compared to the amount people normally consume it is quickly evident why the U.S. has an obesity problem! I was shocked when I realized that my standard meal at my favorite fast food restaurant exceeded my daily calorie needs. Another critical insight in weight loss is the other side of this equation, sitting on the couch watching TV does not burn very many calories.
At the end of the day the formula is simple; one needs to take in only what what one burns up!
Sometimes I want a McDonalds Quarter Pounder. I am well aware of the calorie count for it. I tend to work it into the other 1800 calories I eat that day. Posting the total calories for food will not make me not eat the calories, it will help me fit it into my calories for the day. It is also very helpful for sneaky high calorie foods. Plus it might make people not criticize my occasional quarter pounder as much, as it's actually one of the better things on the menu!
I am appalled at the conclusions made by Prof. Ariely. Sure, his results support conclusions such as "The short term impact of posting caloric information is minimal." However, it does not support the conclusion that the long term impact is the same (which he implies). After 10 years of posting this information, there will very likely be many more people who understand the numbers and pay attention to them. Agreed: Currently a smaller percentage of the population, who know what to look for, are interested. But in the long term, many more people, will be asking, "what is this about calories, anyway?" That is the biggest benefit of this provision of the health care bill. Ultimately, it will inform the consumer, the consumer will make healthier choices, and restaurants will be forced, by demand, to provide healthier food. A long process.
Pages
