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Attractive names sustain increased vegetable intake in schools
Brian Wansink1, David R Just2, Collin R Payne3
1Department of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University, 15 Warren Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853-7801, USA.
Preventive Medicine
|August 1, 2012
Summary
Attractive names significantly increased vegetable selection and consumption in elementary school students. This scalable, low-cost strategy effectively boosts healthy eating habits in school lunchrooms.
Area of Science:
- Nutrition Science
- Behavioral Economics
- Pediatric Health
Background:
- School lunch programs are critical for student nutrition.
- Low vegetable consumption is a persistent public health concern among children.
- Innovative, cost-effective interventions are needed to improve dietary choices in schools.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of attractive food naming on vegetable selection in school settings.
- To determine if this naming strategy is a sustainable and scalable method for increasing vegetable consumption.
Main Methods:
- Study 1: Paired attractive names with carrots in 5 elementary schools (n=147), measuring selection and consumption.
- Study 2: Tracked vegetable sales in 2 elementary schools (n=1017) over 2 months, comparing attractively named vs. unnamed dishes.
- Both studies conducted in New York elementary schools during 2011.
Main Results:
- Attractively named carrots ('X-ray Vision Carrots') were selected and consumed twice as often compared to un-named carrots.
- Students were 16% more likely to consistently choose attractively named hot vegetable dishes (p<0.001).
- The intervention showed a significant, persistent increase in healthy food choices.
Conclusions:
- The use of attractive names is a highly effective strategy for increasing vegetable consumption in elementary schools.
- This method is scalable and cost-effective, as demonstrated by implementation by a student volunteer.
- Attractive naming represents a promising, sustainable approach to improving child nutrition in school environments.
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