In Paul Levy’s well-known “Running a Hospital” blog on hospital, medicine and health care issues, he recently mentioned some interesting research on consumer food choices. He contends that when healthier options are made available to consumers, they are more likely to make indulgent food choices. So simply making salads available to consumers could result in their choice of french fries. It’s a baffling phenomenon, but unfortunately not surprising.
This is a battle that we in healthcare fight each and every day. If our goal is to have patients – and their visitors – leave a hospital healthier than when they arrived, then it’s crucial to consider the role their meals play in overall health.
Several industry efforts are underway to encourage hospitals and other healthcare facilities to not only make healthy food available, but also provide the information – and incentives – necessary to help patients make the right choices. Click here to read a Nutrition Today article on this very issue.
We’re also now beginning to see that it’s just as important to consider how that food is made available. Is it accompanied with clear information about what makes one item healthier than another? Are there indications of which food items are low in sodium, fat and/or sugar?
As I’ve mentioned before, a group of ARAMARK Healthcare Fellows are working with researchers Kevin Volpp, MD, Ph.D. with the Wharton School at the University of Penn School of Medicine, and George Lowenstein Ph.D. of Carnegie Melon University on using the theories of behavioral economics to alter food choice patterns. The premise is to make it easier for people to choose healthier food, and to “convert” food nutrition jargon into language that people understand. For example, one research project implemented at six hospitals across the US focused on using calorie information alone, exercise equivalents, and calories & exercise equivalents as part of an education process to determine if employees who use a cafeteria are likely to switch their food choices to healthier choices.
It’s an issue that is being tackled from several different angles and I’d love to hear about any other related studies out there right now.
