Beware the Health Halo
Hey folks, it's Karen here. Since we're talking about food labels this week, I want to introduce you to the concept of the "health halo." Have you ever assumed a product was the “healthier” choice because it was labelled low-fat? Or gluten-free? Or all-natural? This automatic assumption that a food is superior, based on the marketing used to promote that product, is called the Health Halo Effect. We are all subject to falling for this (dietitians included!) But being aware of it is the first step towards inoculating yourself.
While the health halo effect can happen with any food, at any store, it is particularly noticeable in a store such as Whole Foods. Just shopping at a store called "Whole Foods" gives you the automatic impression that everything in the store is wholesome, and good for you.The pump is already primed for you to make false assumptions about the health value of the foods in that store. For example, you might come across some gummy candy at Whole Foods that boasts it has natural food coloring (instead of that scary red dye #40!) You think "Awesome! These are healthy gummies!" Never mind that they are still candy, loaded with sugar. The health halo effect has biased your judgement of that food.
There was a famous experiment back in the day that compared consumers' estimations of how many calories they consumed eating at Subway vs. McDonald's. They asked people to estimate how many calories they ate from a Subway meal, versus a McDonald's meal. Consistently, people overestimated how many calories they consumed from their McDonald's meal, and underestimated how many calories they consumed from their Subway meal. But why? Think about how Subway had positioned itself for a long time. They were the "healthy" fast food. Contrast that to how people view McDonald's food - they know burgers and fries are not the eptiomy of health food. So, by assuming Subway was the healthier choice, people underestimated the calories they consumed there. The health halo effect. (NOTE: Across the board, people underestimated how many calories they consumed at either restaurant. Humans are notoriously bad that this!)
The health halo effect doesn't just happen when we make personal food choices. It can occur on a more macro level as well, with even more disastrous consequences. Think about the 1990’s when nutrition guidelines urged people to eat less fat (in response to growing obesity rates). What happened? People ate a bunch of fat free stuff (hello Snackwells!) because they thought that was the healthier thing to do. Data now shows us that the percentage of calories consumed from fat did indeed go down during that decade. But only because people ate more refined carbohydrates, and more calories. And it did nothing to curb rising rates of obesity. Talk about unintended consequences.
So now that you are aware of the health halo effect, what comes next? I hope you'll use this as a reminder to make food choices based on things other than fancy marketing and buzzwords. Be careful not to elevate one nutrient or food quality, while demonizing others. All foods can fit, and there is so much to consider (beyond labels, too) when making your food choices.