The Effect of Pre-Selection and Visual Cues on Food Item Selection by Middle School Children

This study examines the role that the right behavioral cues can play in changing lunchroom habits and transitioning children towards healthier eating habits. We accomplish this by encouraging middle school children to pre-select their meals using a web-based software program where they are nudged by visual behavioral cues to make healthier food choices during pre-ordering. Our research design allows us to separate the effect of pre-selection from the effect of nudging on eating habits. We predict that pre-selecting lunch via the web based program with in-built behavioral cues will result in an increase in the weekly selection of fruits, vegetables, and low fat dairy.