It turns out people are not good at guessing how many calories are in food, and actually eat more calories at “healthy” restaurants than at “unhealthy” ones (think Subway and McDonald’s, respectively).

Unfortunately, you’re likely to order more calories at a restaurant, when it claims to be ‘healthy’. An important study from the Journal of Consumer Research explains one factor within the “American obesity paradox”: the parallel rise in obesity rates and the popularity of healthier food. In a series of four studies, the researchers reveal that American customers over-generalize “healthy” claims. In fact, consumers chose beverages, side dishes, and desserts containing up to 131% more calories when the main dish was positioned as “healthy”.

In the study, consumers chose beverages, side dishes, and desserts containing up to 131% more calories when the main course was positioned as “healthy” compared to when it was not.

“In our black and white view, most food is good or not good,” explain Pierre Chandon (INSEAD, France) and Brian Wansink (Cornell University). “When we see a fast-food restaurant like Subway advertising its low-calorie sandwiches, we think, ‘It’s OK: I can eat a sandwich there and then have a high-calorie dessert,’ when, in fact, some Subway sandwiches contain more calories than a Big Mac.”

In one study, Chandon and Wansink had consumers guess how many calories are in sandwiches from two restaurants. They estimated that sandwiches contain 35% fewer calories when they come from restaurants claiming to be healthy than when they are from restaurants not making this claim.

The result of this calorie underestimation? Consumers then chose beverages, side dishes, and desserts containing up to 131% more calories when the main course was positioned as “healthy” compared to when it was not–even though, in the study, the “healthy” main course already contained 50% more calories than the “unhealthy” one.

Dr. Chandon’s answer, derived from laboratory experiments as well as field work at Subway and McDonald’s restaurants, is that Americans have been seduced into overeating by the so-called health halo associated with certain foods and restaurants.

“These studies help explain why the success of fast-food restaurants serving lower-calorie foods has not led to the expected reduction in total calorie intake and in obesity rates,” the authors write.

What should people and health agencies do” In the final study, the researchers show that encouraging people to examine whether the restaurant’s health claims actually apply to the particular food they ordered eliminates the “health halo” effects.

As they explain: “More generally, we need to think about food not just qualitatively (as in “good food — bad food”) but also quantitatively (as in “how many calories are in this meal?”).”

These results are certainly so culturally determined, that they are not applying outside their original cultural background. Traditional French or Italian culture are not assessing ffood in a perspective of calories altogether, hence consumers there are much less likely to fall for high caloric addups to perceivedly healthy main courses.

In other words, people believe that since they are eating a “healthy” sandwich, it’s okay to have the 42 oz. soft drink, bag of chips, and cookie. And they don’t mention it in the article, but I would bet that that “I’ve eaten something healthy today” mindset carries throughout the day, and people “reward” themselves to a more indulgent dinner than they would have otherwise eaten.

JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc. · Vol. 34 · October 2007

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