Douglas E. Levy|Jason Riis|Lillian Sonnenberg|Susan Barraclough|Anne N. Thorndike
Food Choices of Minority and Low-Income Employees
Massachusetts General Hospital|Harvard University|Massachusetts General Hospital|Food and Nutrition Service|Harvard University|Food and Nutrition Service|Massachusetts General Hospital|Massachusetts General Hospital|Harvard University
effective strategies needed address obesity particularly among minority lowincome individualsto test whether twophase pointofpurchase intervention improved food choices across racial socioeconomic job type groupsa 9month longitudinal study 2009 2010 assessing personlevel changes purchases healthy unhealthy foods following sequentially introduced interventions data analyzed 2011participants 4642 employees large hospital boston regular cafeteria patronsthe first intervention traffic lightstyle colorcoded labeling system encouraging patrons purchase healthy items labeled green avoid unhealthy items labeled red second intervention manipulated choice architecture physically rearranging certain cafeteria items making greenlabeled items accessible redlabeled items less accessibleproportion green red labeled items purchased employee subanalyses tracked beverage purchases including calories price per beverageemployees selfidentified white 73 black 10 latino 7 asian 10 compared white employees latino black employees purchased higher percentage red items baseline 18 28 33 respectively p0001 lower percentage green 48 38 33 p0001 labeling decreased employees red item purchases 112 95 ci 136 89 increased green purchases 66 95 ci52 79 red beverage purchases decreased 238 95 ci 281 196 choice architecture intervention decreased red purchases labeling intervention effects similar across raceethnicity job types p005 interaction race job type intervention mean calories per beverage decreased similarly study period racial groups job types increase perbeverage spendingdespite baseline differences healthy food purchases simple colorcoded labeling choice architecture intervention improved food beverage choices among employees racial socioeconomic backgrounds