Using affective and information nudge to promote healthy snack choice among primary school children: Insights from a...

Children's food choices are often shaped by contextual cues rather than deliberate reasoning, making behavioral nudges a promising tool for promoting healthier decisions. This study examines the effect of affective and informational nudges on snack choices among primary school children using a three-arm block-randomized field experiment conducted in a school setting. Students were randomly assigned, within class and gender strata, to one of three conditions: a control group, an affective nudge condition in which a healthy snack was paired with a positive visual cue, and a combined affective-informational condition that added a brief educational video prior to choice. The primary outcome was whether the child selected a banana over a commonly consumed cookie. Linear probability and logistic regression models with strata fixed effects were used to estimate treatment effects, controlling for parental education and prior fruit consumption. The results show that the affective nudge increased the likelihood of choosing a banana, although the effect is not statistically significant, while the combined affective-informational intervention produced large and statistically significant increases in healthy snack choice. Findings were robust across alternative model specifications, exclusion of younger students, and gender-stratified analyses. Prior fruit consumption was positively associated with healthier choice, whereas parental education was not. These findings demonstrate that simple, low-cost nudges can meaningfully influence children's food choices in naturalistic settings. Combining emotional cues with basic information appears particularly effective, highlighting the value of integrating affective and cognitive elements in interventions aimed at improving child nutrition.