How Google’s opaque packaging resulted in 3.1 million fewer calories consumed over 7 weeks

Intervention · Health

Abstract

In 2012, Google noticed that its employees ate too much of the free candy offered in its offices, and the company feared that this would hinder efforts to keep employees healthy and happy.1 It developed Project M&M to address these concerns, hoping to improve employee well-being by moving unhealthy snacks out of plain sight and instead displaying healthy snacks. 

By implementing physical design changes, Google was able to nudge its employees to consume fewer calories.1 Specifically, 3.1 million fewer calories were consumed over the course of seven weeks in its New York office. This calorie decrease was hoped to be associated with happier and healthier employees.

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Sources

  1. Kang, C. (2013, September 1). Google crunches data on munching in the office. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/google-crunches-data-on-munching-in-office/2013/09/01/3902b444-0e83-11e3-85b6-d27422650fd5_story.html
  2. Hendy, H. M. (2012). Which comes first in food-mood relationships, foods or moods? Appetite, 58(2), 771-775.
  3. White, B. A., Horwatch, C. C., & Conner, T. S. (2013). Many apples a day keep the blues away – Daily experiences of negative and positive affect and food consumption in young adults. British Journal of Health Psychology, 18(4), 782-798.
  4. Atkins, L., & Michie, S. (2013). Changing eating behaviour: What can we learn from behavioural science? Nutrition Bulletin, 38(1), 30-35.
  5. Flanagan, A. E., & Tanner, J. C. (2016). A framework for evaluating behavior change in international development operations (IEG Working Paper 2016/No. 2). Independent Evaluation Group. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/25872/110890-WP-PUBLIC.pdf?sequence=1
  6. Castelo, N., Hardy, E., House, J., Mazar, N., Tsai, C., & Zhao, M. (2015). Moving citizens online: Using salience & message framing to motivate behavior change. Behavioral Science & Policy, 1(2), 57–68. https://doi.org/10.1353/bsp.2015.0018
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