"Hide the chocolate milk behind the plain milk. Get those apples and oranges out of stainless steel bins and into pretty baskets. Cash only for desserts. These subtle moves can entice kids to make healthier choices in school lunch lines, studies show. Food and restaurant marketers have long used similar tricks. Now the government wants in on the act. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced what it called a major new initiative Tuesday, giving $2 million to food behavior scientists to find ways to use psychology to improve kids' use of the federal school lunch program and fight childhood obesity. A fresh approach is clearly needed, those behind the effort say." - Anne Bouey from Bookmarklet

"Some tricks already judged a success by Cornell researchers: Keep ice cream in freezers without glass display tops so the treats are out of sight. Move salad bars next to the checkout registers, where students linger to pay, giving them more time to ponder a salad. And start a quick line for make-your-own subs and wraps, as Corning East High School in upstate New York did. "I eat that every day now," instead of the chicken patty sandwiches that used to be a staple, said Shea Beecher, a 17-year-old senior. "It's like our own little Subway," said Sterling Smith, a 15-year-old sophomore. (Hint to the school: Freshen up the fruit bowl; the choices are pretty narrow by the time Smith gets to his third-shift lunch period.) Last year, the USDA asked the Institute of Medicine for advice on its school lunch and breakfast programs, which provide free or subsidized meals to more than 31 million schoolchildren each day. The institute recommended more fruit, vegetables and whole grains with limits on fat, salt and calories. But it was clear this wouldn't help unless kids accepted healthier foods, Guthrie said." - Anne Bouey

umm...creepy - .LAG liked that

.LAG, I totally disagree. - Ruchira S. Datta

Ruchira... please elaborate. My claim of "creepy" is based on this concern: OK, you start "modifying behavior" on children's food choices, where does it stop? it seems trivial, it's just food... but what's really going on here, IMHO, is you're training people to become easily manipulated. I'm not arguing that children ought to eat better. I'm arguing against using Pavlovian/Skinnerian techniques to achieve these ends. - .LAG liked that

It doesn't stop. Look at the psychology behind the layout of a supermarket. - Mellyboo

People are easily manipulated without having to be trained to be so. - Andy Bakun

I don't think it's Pavlovian/Skinnerian, .LAG. I think it's simply human nature. They're presenting better choices in a positive way. They're using what they already know about how we make choices. They're not changing how we make choices... And, Melly... the supermarket thing... I TOTALLY have to tell myself constantly to stick to the perimeter. Otherwise, I'll see AND BUY all of the yummy food that I do not need. :-) EDIT: Better yet, I'm trying to shift my buying from supermarkets to farmers' markets. - Lisa L. Seifert | FHG™

I think an even better way to affect the choices kids make within the federal school lunch program would be to cut out the undesirable foods. Don't even make them an option... Why are they spending money on ice cream and the freezers to keep it in?!?! - Lisa L. Seifert | FHG™

I agree Lisa - if it's not there, they can't eat it! - Mellyboo

Lisa, the junk food is probably how they make the bulk of their money. - Rochelle

I really wish it weren't about the money... :-( - Lisa L. Seifert | FHG™

I think lunch should be as educational as the rest of the curriculum. And this is one of the reasons that when I have my own children, my first choice of school for them will be home school. - Lisa L. Seifert | FHG™

The article notes that when students are force-fed only healthy foods, many abandon the school lunch program. - Anne Bouey

Whether we are aware of it or not, parents use psychology in raising and teaching our children. We often reward good behavior/choices and ignore or discipline (teach) kids for poor choices. - Anne Bouey

I agree with Lisa. This isn't Pavlovian or Skinerrian, it is far more subtle, akin to the difference between opt-in and opt-out for organ donation (either way you still have the freedom to decide whether to be an organ-donor, but the *default* makes a huge difference on people's choices). A good book on this subject is Nudge: http://www.amazon.com/dp... - Michael R. Bernstein

Anne... that's a good point. My parents were the people who taught my siblings and me what was OK to eat, and what we should avoid. (Of course, as kids, when given the opportunity to load up on donuts and soda we would). Isn't there a parental role (whether they use psychological means or others) in getting their children to understand what to eat? I'm just alarmed that the state is stepping in here, and resorting to what the article describes as "trickery." The whole thing seems dishonest and, well, creepy to me - .LAG liked that

.LAG, so you'd prefer that 'trickery' only be employed by the commercial interests that have addicted this country to eating too much food that is bad for us? - Michael R. Bernstein

Michael... yes, you have something there, and full disclosure, I work in advertising, so I'm aware of a lot of the techniques. Kids' minds are a bit more malleable than adults. It seems, in this case, they're being given their choices before they even know what they're doing. I'll check out 'Nudge'...thanks for that. - .LAG liked that

For a food-specific book, you might take a look at 'The End of Overeating': http://www.amazon.com/dp... - Michael R. Bernstein

"Trickery" was probably a poor choice of word to use. - Anne Bouey

.LAG, sorry for not seeing your comment earlier. I think others have expressed my viewpoint better than I would have. I was going to recommend 'Nudge' as well. - Ruchira S. Datta

Thaler & Sunstein call this "Choice Architecture" in "Nudge" (which I highly recommend for anyone interested in this type of behavioral stuff). It's not the removal of choice, but rather structuring the choice so the defaults result in positive behaviors, like eating healthy or saving for retirement. Marketeers have been using similar techniques for years to encourage consumption of whatever they're hawking, so I'm okay with schools doing it to get kids to make healthier choices at lunchtime. - Keith Pelczarski

...I like that "choice architecture"; Ruchira, fair enough. :) - .LAG liked that