I was in New York City this week, and it was my first experience seeing calories posted alongside of prices in Fast Food restaurants. New York enacted a law a year ago, and California and Philadelphia have followed suit.
I guess I’ve known about the law for some time, but it was jaw-dropping to see it for the first time. To put it succinctly, there are TONS OF CALORIES in fast food! I know what you’re thinking – Duh! Who didn’t know that?
Still, check out this picture of a Burger King Double Whopper Value Meal.
1,590 calories! That’s 3/4 of an average person’s recommended Total Calorie intake (2,000) for an entire day.
The troubling part of the experience was that these giant calorie counts didn’t seem to be diminishing demand during my visit. A recent study by Health Affairs showed that while 27% of the people said it influenced their choices, the amount of calories consumed by people went up 2-3%!
I was inside food court at Laguardia airport, so I could walk around and easily compare Burger King, Sbarro Pizza, Nathan’s Hot Dogs, etc. In all of these places, my intended dinner (what I would have normally eaten) did not correspond with the amount of calories I would have thought they would be.
I was thinking that I ought to take in no more than 700 calories for the evening meal because I already knew I’d eaten a pretty good breakfast and lunch. Normally, I might have gotten a Whopper with a large fry and a Diet Coke (to negate the other calories). This combination would have been around 1,200 calories, and I just couldn’t do it.
I ended up getting a slice of thin-crust cheese pizza (430 calories) and a yogurt parfait (380 calories) from Sbarro. This 810 calorie dinner was more than I had in mind, but it was also way more calories than I would have predicted. Plus, normally I would have gotten the Veggie Pizza and think that I was doing the healthy thing. But, the Veggie was a Pan crust (as opposed to thin) and weighed in at a massive 730 calories! Jeez! So much for thinking I’m eating healthy.
Still, these in-your-face-facts didn’t seem to bother most people. Lines were long and consistent at all of the places.
Why? you ask. I think there are several factors at play.
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People underestimate the number of calories they take in, and they overestimate the calories they burn. I would bet that most people don’t even know that the recommended daily intake of calories for adults is 2,000. No clue.
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Fast Food is a bad setting. Some people really want to eat healthy, but when they put themselves into the position of being hungry and rushed at the same time, it’s a bad combination. If they had more time to think about what they were going to eat and more time to eat it, they may make a healthier decision.
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These are brands we trust. I grew up eating at McDonalds and Burger King. I have always trusted that they’re not trying to kill me. It seems like it would be in their best interests to keep me alive and a loyal customer. This is not the case. I think they still like me, but they no more about the food that I crave than I do. Bad smartness.
- It’s cheap. If you think about food on a Calorie per Dollar basis, you can’t beat it. It’s true that the wealthier are healthier because they can afford to eat better. The United States needs to get invested in producing healthier food at a lower cost, or the obese will get obeser.
So, what to do? For me, I thought the menu information was fabulous, and I wish it was on every menu. I’d eat smarter and better. I’m going to continue to read books like, “Eat This, Not That.” Fantastic, easy-to-understand format for dining out and for dining in.
And, finally, I’m glad I didn’t get the Chili Cheese Fries at Nathan’s.
Good Googly Moogly!
Tags: burger king, calories, customer needs, eat this not that, mcdonalds, nathan's hot dogs, new york, obesity, sbarro
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Posted in behavioral economics
I heard this story on this morning on NPR.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113673324
I’m not an audiophile, so I wasn’t paying much attention until they mentioned the Black Eyed Peas new song, “I’ve got a feeling.” I like this group regardless if I’m not their target demographic. I saw them perform on Ellen DeGeneres’ show, and I remember thinking how simplistic the words are. Very catchy.
Plus, I recently saw the Oprah video of the group performing “I’ve got a feeling” in Chicago with a Flash Mob dance thrown in, and I was hooked. If you haven’t seen the Oprah video, it’s definitely worth a click.
Anyway, the interesting thing about the story is that a company called Music Intelligence launched a Web site for songwriters called Uplaya. The website allows songwriters to upload a song gives it a “success rating” based on a series of algorithms.
According to the article, the “software found that hits have certain common patterns of rhythm, harmony, chord progression, length and lyrics. A study conducted by the Harvard Business School found that the software was accurate 8 out of 10 times.”
The amazing fact is that an algorithm can predict success 80% of the time. What if your business had an algorithm that could predict the success of your new offerings 80% of the time? You’d be a huge success!
In the past, I’ve done conjoint analysis studies to find the right combination of attributes and levels to make a successful product or service, but a lot of people are turned off by the “mathiness” of the process. It seems too sterile for the non-quant folks. Maybe I can use stories like Uplaya to revisit some of the findings and generate new enthusiasm. I’ve got a feeling…
Tags: black eyed peas, conjoint analysis, innovation, npr, sawtooth, uplaya, wisdom of the crowds
By now, you may have seen and been entertained by this very cool Swedish video. If not, click on this link and spend a minute being amazed.
<click!>The Piano Stair Case <click!>
Tom Hanks and and Robert Loggia danced "Heart & Soul" and "Chopsticks" on the store's large floor piano.
What a great idea! Not just because it brings back memories the FAO Schwartz scene in the movie “Big,” but because it illustrates an imporatant Behavioral Economics principal. Delight = Compliance.
The problem with standard, text-book economics is that it assumes that people always act in a rational manner, and always make choices that are best for them in the long run. We know this isn’t true. If it were, we’d all be thin, we’d all have plenty of money in the bank for retirement, and we always would have prepared in advance for that mid-term exam.
In fact, we know that people tend to rationalize not doing the right thing. In this case, people know it would be better to take the stairs because it would give them exercise, save electricity, etc. But, in most cases, people take the elevator or escalator because it’s easier.
The genius in the video is making taking the stairs delightful, and, therefore people comply.
I have a former colleague from the bookfield that’s making a motivational speaking career out of getting people to, “Take the Stairs!” Check out his blog.
http://takethestairs.wordpress.com/
The same principle was recently applied to banking. A credit union in Michigan was having trouble getting people to save money, so they instituted a lottery! The idea was to give people a chance to win a prize for every $25 they invested in a Certificate of Deposit. The bank paid for the prizes by giving a lower interest rate on the CDs. Now, a truly rational person would never make this deal because the odds of winning don’t justify the lost interest. However, the promotion is a huge success. People like the short-term thrill of a lottery chance, so it makes the idea of saving money more palatable. Check out the full story.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124786612839159989.html
So, the bottom line is if you want someone to do something, find a way to make it fun!
http://www.rolighetsteorin.se/en/
Tags: behavioral economics, innovation, jacksonville, obesity, piano, piano stairs
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