Abstract
Purpose
This study examined the use of behavioral design strategies to improve healthier food sales.
Design
A quasi-experimental, one-group, repeated measures design examined changes in food sales following behavioral design adjustments.
Setting
United States military base hospital dining facility.
Subjects
U.S. military service members, retirees, and civilian employees.
Intervention
Behavioral design changes included placement, layout, messaging, default healthy bundling, a stoplight rating system, strategic positioning of healthy items on menu boards, and an increase in healthier snacks.
Measures
Food sales were assessed by point-of-sales data.
Analysis
T-tests examined total sales of each food adjusted weekly between baseline and intervention and intervention and post-intervention. 16 food items targeted by the intervention were examined. Weekly food sales were calculated for the 18-week baseline, 18-week intervention, and 9-week post-intervention. Further, analysis estimated negative binomial models for food item sales.
Results
The hospital dining facility served 600 to 900 meals per day. Weekly foods sales decreased during the intervention for desserts, cooked starches, hummus, and yogurt (P
Conclusion
This study demonstrates that a mixture of behavioral design strategies can be operationalized with reasonable fidelity and can lead to increases in the sales of some healthy foods in military worksites.
Keywords
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