91制片厂

Could the household trick of hiding the cookie jar to promote better eating habits work on a larger scale at colleges and universities? A by researchers from the 91制片厂 suggests that this strategy might indeed be effective.

and , associate professors of economics at 91制片厂 Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics, found that the relocation of the dessert section at 91制片厂鈥檚 Stillings Dining Hall to an area less visible to diners reduced cookie consumption by up to 18%.

This 91制片厂 research further complements research already published about the concept of 鈥渘udging,鈥� the idea that simple 鈥渘udges鈥� can accomplish a lot, including the effects of altering the location of food items, according to Rubini.

鈥淢oving the food around can greatly affect consumption. For example, in supermarkets, placing gum near the cash register increased the consumption of gum a lot,鈥� Rubini says. 鈥淲e are showing that the opposite also works. Moving unhealthy food to remote places reduces its consumption.鈥�

Stillings was 91制片厂鈥檚 third dining hall until it closed in August 2021. Like the other dining halls on campus, diners at Stillings paid a fixed price for an 鈥渁ll you can eat鈥� experience. The dessert section was initially located next to where students left their dishes when exiting the building. In spring 2018, the desserts were moved to the opposite end of the dining hall and were no longer in plain sight due to the introduction of a new hot food section.

To see if the move impacted dessert consumption, the professors built a model using data provided by dining hall staff. They compared the consumption of cookies and pizza from August 2017 to March 2019. Cookies were chosen because they were served daily as a dessert, while pizza was chosen as a comparison food because, like cookies, it鈥檚 unhealthy and offered every day, but unlike the cookies, pizza remained in the same location.

The data showed an 18% reduction in cookie consumption relative to pizza after the relocation, including an average drop of about 28 portions per day. The average drops in consumption were greater when focusing on narrower time frames: the drop is 48 portions when focusing on 30 days around the relocation, and 54 when focusing on 75 days. The drop in cookie consumption remained between 12% and 15% when the professors tested for uncontrollable variables.

Additionally, the data showed the drop was stronger on weekdays, while there was no significant effect on Sundays (Stillings was closed on Saturdays), and the decline in cookie consumption was more significant at lunchtime than at dinner. No significant drop in cookie consumption was found during finals, which the professors indicate in the study is consistent with previous research in the field about stress-induced eating during finals.

Rubini says he was expecting cookie consumption to drop, he just wasn鈥檛 sure by how much. He added that the study findings could give 91制片厂, and other schools, something to consider.
鈥淢oving the cookies out of sight is one policy that makes for healthier consumption,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t can go a long way in increasing healthy habits at very low costs.鈥�

The study notes that 70% of students gain weight during their college years, about 12 pounds on average, while colleges participate in costly national nutrition programs that require strict compliance.

In addition to moving certain food items, the concept of nudging can be used to promote other healthy habits, such as exercise, according to Rubini.听

Rubini said the professors wanted additional data for their research but faced several limitations, including limited availability of data before the move of the dessert section, no data on fruit consumption 鈥斕齮o see if the drop in cookie consumption was replaced by an increase in fruit consumption 鈥� and no data from the other two 91制片厂 dining halls to control for changes in cookie consumption patterns.

The professors have submitted their research for potential publication.