Digital nudging at the university canteen: an online study with American young adults

• Published in: Agricultural and food economics Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 42
• Main Authors: Andreani, Giulia, Wongprawmas, Rungsaran, Biasini, Beatrice, Rosi, Alice, Franchini, Cinzia, Dolgopolova, Irina, Mora, Cristina, Menozzi, Davide, Scazzina, Francesca, Gómez, Miguel I., Roosen, Jutta, Sogari, Giovanni
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.12.2024; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Agricultural Economics; Agriculture; Climate change; Climate effects; Colleges & universities; Consumer behavior; Diet; Dish placement; Eating; Eating behavior; Economics; Economics and Finance; flexitarian diet; Food; Food choice; Food security; graduate students; Health promotion; Healthy and sustainable diets; Hypocaloric diet; Living conditions; Logo; low calorie diet; Nutrient deficiency; Online survey; Placement; Population studies; Students; Vegetarian diet; Vegetarianism; Young adults; Consumer behavior; Food choice; Healthy and sustainable diets; Dish placement; Logo; Online survey
• DOI: 10.1186/s40100-024-00335-5
• ISSN: 2193-7532

Resource scarcity, the effects of climate change, food insecurity, and health issues related to dietary choices have prompted policymakers to develop new strategies to encourage populations to opt for healthy and sustainable (HS) diets. In this context, nudging strategies are promising tools to promote healthy and sustainable dietary behaviors. However, nudges are context-dependent as a specific nudging intervention should be employed in a specific context. This research aims at determining the effects of different nudges on students’ food choices in the context of a hypothetical online pre-ordering system of the college canteen. An experimental study was conducted in the USA with 1400 American college students (18–24 years old). We used a between-subject design with one control and three treatment groups—i.e., a HS logo to identify HS dishes, dish placement (the order in which dishes are displayed on the menu), and a combination of the two nudges. Our main results showed that the logo and logo plus placement led to a significantly increased selection of HS dishes among students who already had strong HS eating behaviors. In addition, individual characteristics (e.g., being flexitarian or vegetarian, being on a low-calorie diet, being a graduate student, and living in dormitories on college campuses) also affected their HS food choices; thus, the population traits, living conditions, and eating habits should be taken into consideration in order to establish successful nudging techniques.