Changing Food Presentation Helps Teens Eat Healthier
We can encourage children to eat more healthily at school - if we alter the way food's packaged and positioned in the canteen, according to new study by Leeds Beckett.
Little changes to the way we present food to teens at school could help them choose healthier options, according to researchers from Leeds Beckett.
They chose two Yorkshire secondary schools to look at and made subtle changes to nudge pupils towards picking food that’s better for them at lunchtime.
The choice of food wasn’t changed. Instead they repositioned healthier foods, marked them with a smiley face sticker, used disposable pots and trays instead of dinner plates and had posters promoting the foods that were better for the students.
They were then two and a half times more likely to pick the healthier options and were three times more likely to choose fruit and vegetables and salad, especially if it was near the till.
Click here to find out how your school can do the same.
Dr Hannah Ensaff led the project and explains why it was a challenge:
“Students tend to pick the same items so their habits are quite difficult to change which is why this research is good in terms of being able to support students in making healthier decisions
“Obviously the caterers wants to provide the food that students want to eat and the school wants the students to eat in their canteen so it’s a really difficult, complex topic. This is a small way that has shown to be effective, not only in our study but also in other studies in the US “.