The Washington Post this morning reports that despite all the media attention paid to the notion that consumers want to eat healthier, many fast food chains are finding that their sales do not reflect these preferences. And so, these chains are re-emphasizing the good old not-so-good-for-you food and either eliminating the healthy food or relegating it to less prominent positions on menus.
The research – at least as cited by these chains – suggests that when people change their eating habits, they tend to do so slowly, and tend to change to healthier food when eating at home.
“Experts in eating behavior say restaurant chains face several hurdles in pushing their more nutritious menu items,” the Post reports. “The biggest one is that people don't like to sacrifice at all on taste for the sake of eating something nutritious. Another is the higher prices that these items often carry, especially freshly prepared dishes such as salads and fruit. And finally, there is the lack of immediate gratification: When a customer orders something with a better nutritional profile, the benefit of that choice may or may not be noticed sometime in the future.”
Even McDonald’s, which has received much praise for selling healthier food, concedes that it still sells more of the other stuff than anything else.
The research – at least as cited by these chains – suggests that when people change their eating habits, they tend to do so slowly, and tend to change to healthier food when eating at home.
“Experts in eating behavior say restaurant chains face several hurdles in pushing their more nutritious menu items,” the Post reports. “The biggest one is that people don't like to sacrifice at all on taste for the sake of eating something nutritious. Another is the higher prices that these items often carry, especially freshly prepared dishes such as salads and fruit. And finally, there is the lack of immediate gratification: When a customer orders something with a better nutritional profile, the benefit of that choice may or may not be noticed sometime in the future.”
Even McDonald’s, which has received much praise for selling healthier food, concedes that it still sells more of the other stuff than anything else.
- KC's View:
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The interesting thing is that the perception – and in some cases, the reality – is that healthier food simply isn’t as good tasting as the other stuff.
Until that changes, we fear that Americans simply are going to prefer less healthy food.
