Pre-Ordering Lunch Encourages Healthy Eating Habits

What did the sales records report? A significant number of healthier choices were made when students pre-ordered lunch. When preordering was available, 29.4% of students ordered the healthier lunch entrée compared to 15.3% when no preordering took place. When ordering in the lunch line, hunger mixed with the aromas and sight of unhealthy foods won out in spontaneous food decisions: healthy entrée selection was reduced by 48% and less healthy entrée choices increased by 21%.

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Further details on the study

This is great news! In school, preordering can help students make healthier choices in entrées. Simply by changing the decision environment, students were nudged to select healthier entrées. Even though schools in this study used an electronic pre-ordering system, paper-based systems can be just as effective, and less costly. Either system provides an effective method to help students make more health conscious decisions at lunch.

Source: Eurekalert