Swaps are used by health-promotion apps and online supermarkets to promote lower-calorie alternatives.Using an experimental online supermarket, our study found that: offering swaps did not lead to participants buying fewer calories as only a quarter of swaps were accepted, and…
Do healthy food adverts have the same effect on everyone?
In two laboratory studies, we found that presenting mock adverts for healthier foods: Increased preferences for fruit over less healthy snacks in those who were more educated and who were hungry at the time of doing the study; But did…
Socioeconomic differences in purchases of more vs. less healthy foods and beverages
This analysis of purchasing data collected from 25,674 British households in 2010 found that lower socioeconomic status (SES) groups generally purchased a greater proportion of energy from less healthy foods and beverages than those in higher SES groups, while higher…
What causes people to underestimate calories in food?
Healthier fruits and vegetables frequently feature on packaging for foods high in fat and sugar. These pairings can lead to calorie underestimates (Chernev (2011) The Dieter’s paradox). In a series of experiments we replicated this effect but our findings demonstrated…
How acceptable are pricing policies for changing behaviour?
How acceptable people find different interventions to reduce alcohol consumption varies depending on the type of intervention and its effectiveness. While our study found differences in acceptability depending on intervention type (affecting price, availability or advertising), acceptability increased when information…