LA fitness news
Healthy Choices
More restaurants and vending machines offer healthy choices these days, so why do our waistlines continue to expand?
A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research shows that some efforts to control eating may backfire. Just seeing a salad on the menu seems to push some consumers to make a less healthy meal choice, according to a Duke University researcher.
It's an effect called "vicarious goal fulfilment," in which a person can feel a goal has been met if they have taken some small action, like considering the salad without actually ordering it, said Gavan Fitzsimons, professor of marketing and psychology at Duke's Fuqua School of Business. "Just because we consumers want to see healthier items available does not mean that we are going to choose them," write the authors. "We present evidence that for many consumers, the addition of healthy alternatives to food choice sets can, ironically, increase the consumption of very indulgent food items."
What next?
Follow us
