HEALTH DAILY NEWS

Fast-food delivery apps should display calorie counts and healthy food options to tackle obesity, new research suggests.

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By making healthier foods more prominent and making small portions the default option on apps like Deliveroo, JustEat and UberEats, calories for takeout meals dropped by up to 15 percent.

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Regularly used by 25 million UK adults, experts said the small tweaks to online ordering could have a significant impact on obesity.

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Dr. Filippo Bianchi, from the Behavioral Insights Team – known as the ‘nudge unit’ – innovation firm Nesta and colleagues from the University of Oxford, conducted a study of 24,000 adults using a simulated delivery app and compared the results with a control app .

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In one trial, involving 6,000 people, they were divided into groups where they were given a small portion, a small portion branded as ‘regular’ and ‘extra small’ portion size.

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The control group could order whatever they wanted, with meals typically containing 1,411 calories, and those given smaller meals typically consumed 177 fewer — 12.5 percent.

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A second trial, involving more than 9,000 adults, used four interventions that moved food and restaurants to make lower-calorie options more prominent on the app.

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They found that the app with healthier eating options was at the top of menus, and lower-calorie restaurants at the top of the restaurant selection page delivered a 15 percent calorie reduction per order.

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This reduced typical calorie intake from 1,382 to 1,173, typical, according to findings published at the European Congress on Obesity in Dublin.

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Researchers found that the takeout app, like the Deliveroo pictured above, with healthier food options at the top of the menus and lower-calorie restaurants at the top of the restaurant selection page, delivered a 15 percent calorie reduction per order

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“Our findings suggest that simple interventions can help people select low-calorie options in delivery apps without having to remove less healthy options,” said Dr. Bianchi.

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“This doesn’t mean we should always trade pizza for green salad — even initiatives that make it easy to make small changes to what we eat can help slowly reduce obesity, if delivered on a large scale.”

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The latest trial tested the impact of using seven different calorie label designs to encourage the choice of low-calorie options in 8,780 adults.

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Compared to the control app where no calorie information was provided, five of the seven labels significantly reduced the calorie content of orders by between 2 and (33 calories per order) 8 percent (110 calories).

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The ability to toggle calorie labels on and off, display recommended energy intake per meal — such as 600 calories for lunch — and avoid things like red fonts to “judgment” people on their high-calorie meals would be welcomed by customers, their research suggested.

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Dr. Bianchi added: “These studies provide encouraging proof-of-concept evidence that small tweaks to delivery apps can help many people identify and select healthier foods.

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“Testing similar initiatives with real restaurants and delivery apps will be important to assess the long-term impact of these interventions in the real world.

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“Further research should also explore the best way to balance the desired health impacts while minimizing impacts on businesses and on consumers’ cost of living.”

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WHAT SHOULD A BALANCED DIET LOOK LIKE?

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Meals should be based on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, ideally whole grains, according to the NHS

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• Eat at least 5 servings of different fruits and vegetables every day. All fresh, frozen, dried and canned fruit and vegetables count

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• Basic meals based on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, preferably whole grains

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• 30 grams of fiber per day: This is equivalent to eating all of the following: 5 servings of fruits and vegetables, 2 whole-wheat muesli biscuits, 2 thick slices of whole-wheat bread, and a large baked potato with skin

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• Provide dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soy drinks) and choose lower-fat, lower-sugar options

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• Eat some beans, legumes, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins (including 2 servings of fish per week, one of which is fatty)

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• Choose unsaturated oils and spreads and consume in small quantities

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• Drink 6-8 cups/glasses of water per day

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• Adults should have less than 6 g of salt and 20 g of saturated fat for women or 30 g for men per day

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Source: NHS Eatwell Guide

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