Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Colorado State University, 1571 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA.
University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, 12631 E 17th Ave, Mail Stop F-561, Academic Office Building, Room 2609, Aurora, CO, USA.
Appetite. 2022 Jan 1;168:105704. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2021.105704. Epub 2021 Sep 20.
U.S. children's frequent consumption of restaurant foods has been associated with low vegetable consumption. Use of choice architecture in restaurants has been shown to increase children's orders of healthy sides, but what children consume when healthy sides are included is unknown. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether altering the choice architecture of children's meals by restructuring the menu, using optimal defaults and vice-virtue bundles, would impact ordering of side dishes and consumption of a vegetable side dish during a restaurant meal. Families with a child between 4-8y attended three dinners at a university-based restaurant. Children's meals included choice of entree (macaroni-and-cheese or chicken tenders) and default side: all carrots (150 g; Menu-1), small fries (50 g)/large carrots (100 g; Menu-2), and small carrots (50 g)/large fries (100 g; Menu-3). Participants could opt-out of the default side for: only fries (Menu-1) or only fries or carrots (Menus-2/3). All foods were pre- and post-weighed to determine consumption. Descriptive statistics examined children's ordering behavior. Repeated measures ANOVA examined differences in consumption of study foods. A paired samples t-test examined differences in french fry consumption (Menus-2/3). Forty-eight children (6.2 ± 1.3 years; 25 male) participated. Most children remained with the default side (Meal-1: 90%; Meal-2: 88%; Meal-3: 85%). Significant differences were seen in children's consumption of french fries (t = -2.57, p = .014) where children ate more during meal 3 compared to meal 2. There were no significant differences in carrot consumption. Use of optimal defaults led to increased orders of healthy sides and steady consumption across the meal conditions. However, use of an optimal, vice-virtue bundle led to a decrease in consumption of french fries. Further investigation of optimal default use on children's menus is warranted.
美国儿童经常在餐馆就餐，其蔬菜摄入量往往较低。餐馆中使用选择架构可以增加儿童对健康配菜的点单量，但儿童在点了健康配菜后会吃多少还不清楚。本研究的目的是调查通过重构菜单、使用最优默认项和混合默认项来改变儿童餐的选择架构，是否会影响餐厅用餐时配菜的点单和蔬菜配菜的食用情况。有 4-8 岁儿童的家庭在大学餐厅参加了三次晚餐。儿童餐可选择主菜（通心粉和奶酪或鸡柳）和默认配菜：全胡萝卜（150 克；菜单 1）、小薯条（50 克）/大胡萝卜（100 克；菜单 2）和小胡萝卜（50 克）/大薯条（100 克；菜单 3）。参与者可以选择退出默认配菜：仅薯条（菜单 1）或仅薯条或胡萝卜（菜单 2/3）。所有食物在食用前后都进行了预称重和后称重，以确定摄入量。描述性统计数据用于检查儿童的点餐行为。重复测量方差分析用于检查研究食物的消费差异。配对样本 t 检验用于检查薯条消费差异（菜单 2/3）。48 名儿童（6.2±1.3 岁；25 名男性）参与了研究。大多数儿童仍选择默认配菜（餐 1：90%；餐 2：88%；餐 3：85%）。儿童食用薯条的量有显著差异（t=-2.57，p=.014），与餐 2 相比，餐 3 中儿童食用的薯条更多。胡萝卜的食用量没有显著差异。使用最优默认项会增加健康配菜的点单量，并在整个用餐过程中保持稳定的食用量。然而，使用最优的混合默认项会导致薯条的食用量减少。有必要进一步研究儿童菜单中最优默认项的使用情况。
