Health on the menu

There is a lot of emotion around food and a lot of psychology goes into food marketing as well. Fast food chains use colours and music to make you eat more and faster. Those who care about food and the welfare of the people who consume food are unsettled by some of the manipulations around food marketing but now there is heartening news in the form of a new study showing that people favour healthier restaurants.

The study involved people being asked to read sample menus and being asked to rate the restaurants for corporate social responsibility. The people were also surveyed to establish their own health consciousness and their wider attitudes. They were also asked to indicate how likely they would be to eat at the restaurant.

The results showed that when people were presented with a menu representing a restaurant that presented nutritional information on its menu then people were more likely to perceive that the restaurant was socially responsible. This was true even when the people showed up as having a low level of Health consciousness.

Highly health conscious people were also more likely to think the restaurant socially responsible if it provided healthy food options.

In short, providing healthy food and information about that food enhances a restaurant’s image. It does not necessarily mean that consumers will always make the choice to go to that restaurant but at least there is motivation there for restaurants, and especially restaurant chains, to provide healthier food for their customers. Yes, fast nasty food might turn a quick buck but healthy food can get you a customer who identifies with you and patronises your business for life…and that may be a longer life.