“Traffic-light” and Numeric Calorie Labels Cut Calorie Consumption

Sources: Penn Medicine News, US News & World Report, Huffington Post, CBS Philly, Tech Times, New Hampshire Voice, June 17, 2016 A recent study published in the the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing by CHIBE Postdoctoral Fellow Eric VanEpps and colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University, involving online workplace lunch orders, found that each of three types of calorie labeling conditions – numbers alone, traffic lights alone, or both labels together – reduced calories ordered by about 10 percent, compared to orders involving no calorie labels. “The similar effects of traffic light and numeric labeling suggests to us that consumers are making decisions based more on which choices seem healthier than on absolute calorie numbers,” VanEpps said.