General public health messages are most effective in changing eating behavior

According to researchers, common public health messages such as “Eat 5 fruits and vegetables a day” suggest that dietary changes are more than very specific advice and guidance tailored to individual needs. Is effective in

In a new study from Health economistPublished in the journal European Economic ReviewThe researchers tested the impact of various public health information on dietary choices across a sample of 300 people on a low-income background.

In their experiments, where individuals were assigned a budget and asked to select items in their shopping basket, participants received very specific personalized information, general health information, or no I did not receive the information.

Those who provided personalized information were given easy-to-understand information about the risk of developing diabetes and heart disease, and easy-to-understand diet and health recommendations to minimize the risk.

Teams at the University of Bath and University of Edinburgh, along with international colleagues at the University of Malta, showed that participants who received general health information were given a basket of food that was low in total fat and low in saturated fat (about 20% less) I found that I chose to spend 34% on groups with no information, and on unhealthy items. For those who received tailor-made information, they made no difference in the number of unhealthy items selected or the nutritional content of their baskets compared to the uninformed group.

The authors say this is because the vast majority of people who received tailor-made information actually got better news about their health than they otherwise would have imagined. This meant that the personalized information was ineffective in the sense that participants were given a “free pass” to continue their current (unhealthy) diet choices.

In the context of efforts to address obesity, including researchers’ latest obesity strategies for the UK government in response to COVID-19, researchers are investigating how this study is increasing towards personalized health information. It states that it should act as a warning. They suggest that the results may explain why efforts to provide personalized health information by public health agencies, including the NHS health check program, have had limited success so far. I am.

Dr. Jonathan James of the School of Economics at Bath University explains: “In recent years, in our efforts to move us towards healthy behavior, we have increased our reliance on coordinating health information to make it very unique to an individual. It is based on the theory that individualized advice and guidance increases resonance with the individual and makes it difficult to ignore.

“However, as our research shows, adjusting health information in this way is not a silver bullet in addressing obesity. In fact, it is more than general health information relevant to all people. The effect of shifting behaviors may be low: the coordinated information provided actually gives a better assessment of someone’s health than they imagined, thus making them unhealthy. You will be given a free pass to continue eating.”

Co-author of Dr. Jonathan Spiteri of University of Malta states: “Policies designing the response to obesity need to keep these results in mind when considering future health interventions. Effective.”

These findings on the impact of general information are consistent with recent evidence on the availability of information such as calories and calories made available at the time of purchase. health information Product label.