Numeric labeling of calories on restaurant menus has been implemented widely, but scientific studies have generally not found substantial effects on calories ordered. The present research tests the impact of a feedback format that is more targeted at how consumers select and revise their meals: real-time aggregation of calorie content to provide dynamic feedback about meal calories via a traffic light label. Because these labels intuitively signal when a meal shifts from healthy to unhealthy (via the change from green to a yellow or red light), they prompt decision makers to course-correct in real time, before they finalize their choice. Results from five preregistered experiments (N = 11,900) show that providing real-time traffic light feedback about the total caloric content of a meal reduces calories in orders, even compared with similar aggregated feedback in numeric format. Patterns of ordering reveal this effect to be driven by people revising high-calorie orders more frequently, leading them to choose fewer and lower-calorie items. Consumers also like traffic light aggregation, indicating greater satisfaction with their order and greater intentions to return to restaurants that use them. The authors discuss how dynamic feedback using intuitive signals could yield benefits in contexts beyond food choice.
AuchinclossAmy H.MallyaGiridhar G.LeonbergBeth L.RicchezzaAndrewGlanzKarenSchwarzDonald F. (2013), “Customer Responses to Mandatory Menu Labeling at Full Service Restaurants,” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 45 (6), 710–19.
2.
BazermanMax H.TenbrunselAnn E.Wade-BenzoniKimberly (1998), “Negotiating with Yourself and Losing: Making Decisions with Competing Internal Preferences,” Academy of Management Review, 23 (2), 225–41.
3.
BettmanJames R.LuceMary FrancesPayneJohn W. (1998), “Constructive Consumer Choice Processes,” Journal of Consumer Research, 25 (3), 187–217.
4.
BitterlyT. BradfordMislavskyRobertDaiHengchenMilkmanKatherine L. (2015), “Dueling with Desire: A Synthesis of Past Research on Want/Should Conflict,” in The Psychology of Desire, HofmannW.NordgrenL.F., eds. New York: Guilford Press, 244–65.
5.
BleichSara N.EconomosChristina D.SpikerMarie L.VercammenKelsey A.VanEppsEric M.BlockJason P., et al. (2017), “A Systematic Review of Calorie Labeling and Modified Calorie Labeling Interventions: Impact on Consumer and Restaurant Behavior,” Obesity, 25 (12), 2018–44.
6.
BlockJason P. (2018), “The Calorie-Labeling Saga—Federal Preemption and Delayed Implementation of Public Health Law,” New England Journal of Medicine, 379 (2), 103–05.
7.
BlockJason P.CondonSuzanne K.KleinmanKenMullenJewelLinakisStephanieRifas-ShimanSheryl, et al. (2013), “Consumers’ Estimation of Calorie Content at Fast Food Restaurants: Cross Sectional Observational Study,” BMJ, 346, f2907.
8.
BollingerBryanLesliePhillipSorensenAlan (2011), “Calorie Posting in Chain Restaurants,” American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 3 (1), 91–128.
9.
BurtonScotCookLaurel AynneHowlettElizabethNewmanChristopher L. (2015), “Broken Halos and Shattered Horns: Overcoming the Biasing Effects of Prior Expectations Through Objective Information Disclosure,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43 (2), 240–56.
10.
CadarioRomainChandonPierre (2020), “Which Healthy Eating Nudges Work Best? A Meta-Analysis of Field Experiments,” Marketing Science, 39 (3), 465–86.
11.
CamilleriAdrian R.LarrickRichard P. (2019), “The Collective Aggregation Effect: Aggregating Potential Collective Action Increases Prosocial Behavior,” Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 148 (3), 550–69.
12.
CamilleriAdrian R.LarrickRichard P.HossainShajutiPatino-EcheverriDalia (2019), “Consumers Underestimate the Emissions Associated with Food but Are Aided by Labels,” Nature Climate Change, 9 (1), 53–58.
13.
CantorJonathanTorresAlejandroAbramsCourtneyElbelBrian (2015), “Five Years Later: Awareness of New York City’s Calorie Labels Declined, with No Changes in Calories Purchased,” Health Affairs, 34 (11), 1893–1900.
14.
ChoiJungsilLiYexin JessicaSamperAdriana (2019), “The Influence of Health Motivation and Calorie Ending on Preferences for Indulgent Foods,” Journal of Consumer Research, 46 (3), 606–19.
15.
CohenDeborahBhatiaRajivStoryMary T.WootanMargoEconomosChristina D.Van HornLinda, et al. (2013), Performance Standards for Restaurants: A New Approach to Addressing the Obesity Epidemic. Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corporation.
16.
ColbyHelenLiMengChapmanGretchen (2020), “Dodging Dietary Defaults: Choosing Away from Healthy Nudges,” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 161, 50–60.
17.
DharRaviSimonsonItamar (1999), “Making Complementary Choices in Consumption Episodes: Highlighting Versus Balancing,” Journal of Marketing Research, 36 (1), 29–44.
DownsJulie S.WisdomJessicaLoewensteinGeorge (2015), “Helping Consumers Use Nutrition Information: Effects of Format and Presentation,” American Journal of Health Economics, 1 (3), 326–44.
20.
DownsJulie S.WisdomJessicaWansinkBrianLoewensteinGeorge (2013), “Supplementing Menu Labeling with Calorie Recommendations to Test for Facilitation Effects,” American Journal of Public Health, 103 (9), 1604–09.
21.
DuckworthAngela L.MilkmanKatherine L.LaibsonDavid (2018), “Beyond Willpower: Strategies for Reducing Failures of Self-Control,” Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 19 (3), 102–29.
22.
ElbelBrian (2011), “Consumer Estimation of Recommended and Actual Calories at Fast Food Restaurants,” Obesity, 19(10), 1971–78.
23.
ElbelBrianKershRoganBrescollVictoria L.Beth DixonL. (2009), “Calorie Labeling and Food Choices: A First Look at the Effects on Low-Income People in New York City,” Health Affairs, 28 (6), w1110–21.
24.
ElbelBrianMijanovichTodBeth DixonL.AbramsCourtneyWeitzmanBethKershRogan, et al. (2013), “Calorie Labeling, Fast Food Purchasing and Restaurant Visits,” Obesity, 21 (11), 2172–79.
25.
EllisonBrennaLuskJayson L.DavisDavid (2013), “Looking at the Label and Beyond: The Effects of Calorie Labels, Health Consciousness, and Demographics on Caloric Intake in Restaurants,” International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 10 (1), 21.
26.
EllisonBrennaLuskJayson L.DavisDavid (2014), “The Impact of Restaurant Calorie Labels on Food Choice: Results from a Field Experiment,” Economic Inquiry, 52 (2), 666–81.
FinkelsteinEric A.StrombotneKiersten L.ChanNadine L.KriegerJames (2011), “Mandatory Menu Labeling in One Fast-Food Chain in King County, Washington,” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 40 (2), 122–27.
30.
FishbachAyeletDharRavi (2005), “Goals as Excuses or Guides: The Liberating Effect of Perceived Goal Progress on Choice,” Journal of Consumer Research, 32 (3), 370–77.
31.
FranckleRebecca L.BlockJason P.RobertoChristina A. (2016), “Calorie Underestimation When Buying High-Calorie Beverages in Fast-Food Contexts,” American Journal of Public Health, 106 (7), 1254–55.
32.
GaoFeiSuXuanming (2018), “Omnichannel Service Operations with Online and Offline Self-Order Technologies,” Management Science, 64 (8), 3595–3608.
GustafsonChristopher R.ZeballosEliana (2019), “Cognitive Aids and Food Choice: Real Time Calorie Counters Reduce Calories Ordered and Correct Biases in Calorie Estimates,” Appetite, 141, 104320.
35.
HawsKelly L.LiuPeggy J. (2016), “Combining Food Type(s) and Food Quantity Choice in a New Food Choice Paradigm Based on Vice-Virtue Bundles,” Appetite, 103, 441–49.
36.
HowlettElizabeth A.BurtonScotBatesKennethHugginsKyle (2009), “Coming to a Restaurant Near You? Potential Consumer Responses to Nutrition Information Disclosure on Menus,” Journal of Consumer Research, 36 (3), 494–503.
37.
HuiSam K.FaderPeter S.BradlowEric T. (2009), “Path Data in Marketing: An Integrative Framework and Prospectus for Model Building,” Marketing Science, 28 (2), 320–35.
38.
KhanUzmaDharRavi (2006), “Licensing Effect in Consumer Choice,” Journal of Marketing Research, 43 (2), 259–66.
39.
KossmeierMichaelTranUlrich S.VoracekMartin (2019) “Visualizing Meta-Analytic Data with R Package Metaviz,” R package version 0.3.0, https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=metaviz.
40.
LarrickRichard P.SollJack B.KeeneyRalph L. (2015), “Designing Better Energy Metrics for Consumers,” Behavioral Science & Policy, 1 (1), 63–75.
41.
LiuPeggy J.BettmanJames R.UhaldeArianna R.UbelPeter A. (2015), “‘How Many Calories Are in My Burrito?’ Improving Consumers’ Understanding of Energy (Calorie) Range Information,” Public Health Nutrition, 18 (1), 15–24.
LiuPeggy J.HawsKelly L.ScherrKarenReddenJoseph P.BettmanJames R.FitzsimonsGavan J. (2019), “The Primacy of ‘What’ over ‘How Much’: How Type and Quantity Shape Healthiness Perceptions of Food Portions,” Management Science, 65 (7), 3353–81.
44.
ParkerJeffrey R.LehmannDonald R. (2014), “How and When Grouping Low-Calorie Options Reduces the Benefits of Providing Dish-Specific Calorie Information,” Journal of Consumer Research, 41 (1), 213–35.
45.
PayneJohn W.BettmanJames R.SchkadeDavid A. (1999), “Measuring Constructed Preferences: Towards a Building Code,” Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 19 (1), 243–70.
46.
SchwartzJanetRiisJasonElbelBrianArielyDan (2012), “Inviting Consumers to Downsize Fast-Food Portions Significantly Reduces Calorie Consumption,” Health Affairs, 31 (2), 399–407.
47.
ShahAvni M.BettmanJames R.UbelPeter A.KellerPunam AnandEdellJulie A. (2014), “Surcharges Plus Unhealthy Labels Reduce Demand for Unhealthy Menu Items,” Journal of Marketing Research, 51 (6), 773–89.
48.
SheehanDanielVan IttersumKoert (2018), “In-Store Spending Dynamics: How Budgets Invert Relative-Spending Patterns,” Journal of Consumer Research, 45 (1), 49–67.
SonnenbergLillianGelsominEmilyLevyDouglas E.RiisJasonBarracloughSusanThorndikeAnne N. (2013), “A Traffic Light Food Labeling Intervention Increases Consumer Awareness of Health and Healthy Choices at the Point-of-Purchase,” Preventive Medicine, 57 (4), 253–57.
51.
TakslerGlen B.ElbelBrian (2014), “Calorie Labeling and Consumer Estimation of Calories Purchased,” International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 11 (1), 1–8.
52.
TangariAndrea HeintzBuiMyHawsKelly L.LiuPeggy J. (2019), “That’s Not So Bad, I’ll Eat More! Backfire Effects of Calories-Per-Serving Information on Snack Consumption,” Journal of Marketing, 83 (1), 133–50.
53.
ThorndikeAnne N.RiisJasonSonnenbergLillian M.LevyDouglas E. (2014), “Traffic-Light Labels and Choice Architecture: Promoting Healthy Food Choices,” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 46 (2), 143–49.
54.
ThorndikeAnne N.SonnenbergLillian M.RiisJasonBarracloughSusanLevyDouglas E. (2012), “A 2-Phase Labeling and Choice Architecture Intervention to Improve Healthy Food and Beverage Choices,” American Journal of Public Health, 102 (3), 527–33.
55.
UngemachChristophCamilleriAdrian R.JohnsonEric J.LarrickRichard P.WeberElke U. (2018), “Translated Attributes as Choice Architecture: Aligning Objectives and Choices Through Decision Signposts,” Management Science, 64 (5), 2445–59.
56.
VanEppsEric M.DownsJulie S.LoewensteinGeorge (2016), “Calorie Label Formats: Using Numeric and Traffic Light Calorie Labels to Reduce Lunch Calories,” Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 35 (1), 26–36.
57.
ViechtbauerWolfgang (2010), “Conducting Meta-Analyses in R with the Metafor Package,” Journal of Statistical Software, 36 (3), 1–48.
58.
WilcoxKeithVallenBethBlockLaurenFitzsimonsGavan J. (2009), “Vicarious Goal Fulfillment: When the Mere Presence of a Healthy Option Leads to an Ironically Indulgent Decision,” Journal of Consumer Research, 36 (3), 380–93.
59.
WisdomJessicaDownsJulie S.LoewensteinGeorge (2010), “Promoting Healthy Choices: Information Versus Convenience,” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2 (2), 164–78.
60.
WoolleyKaitlinRisenJane L. (2018), “Closing Your Eyes to Follow Your Heart: Avoiding Information to Protect a Strong Intuitive Preference,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 114 (2), 230–45.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
