British researchers offer solutions to reduce the number of calories on meals ordered via delivery apps.
How to avoid overeating by always falling for a burger or a pizza, delivered to your home? The details of Géraldine Zamansky, journalist at the Magazine de la Santé on France 5.
franceinfo: What are the solutions proposed by British researchers to reduce the number of calories on meal delivery applications?
Geraldine Zamansky: To achieve this, this London team did not hesitate to create a fake application, including all the usual types of menus. With burgers and pizzas, of course – stars of home orders, but also Asian and Mexican dishes, or even fish and chips, the famous fish with chips, adored by the British.
And more than 23,000 of them then agreed to test the different variations proposed by Dr. Filippo Bianchi and his colleagues from Nesta, an associative research group, mobilized against obesity. Dr. Bianchi explained to me that they reduced the calorie balance of an order by 15%, by simply presenting the restaurants on average with fewer calories first. With the lighter dishes also, placed in priority in their menu.
All that for just 15% off?
That doesn’t sound like a lot, but Dr. Bianchi points out that the spontaneous calorie balance of an order amounts to more than 1000 calories, sometimes 1400. So a 15% reduction represents 150 calories to 210 calories. This still brings us closer to the theoretical objective, located around 600. Obviously, to have a positive effect on health, this new choice must be maintained over time.
To facilitate this result, they also looked for the best way to display the calories on the screen. Giving their total statement, explained above the price before payment, is for example very effective. But at that point, Dr. Bianchi’s team found that the expense also went down.
So there is no chance that applications will voluntarily adopt the display of calories?
You are right, it is the risk. The researchers therefore identified a compromise: highlighting the most expensive dishes with the fewest calories. So, the effectiveness is a little reduced for health, but compatible with a voluntary commitment of the sector in this way.
It is not impossible. Because Dr. Bianchi insisted on another major result: about 7 out of 10 participants would like to have this information in real life. The apps that would start there would therefore gain customers. And of course, we don’t forget that the calories here are an easy-to-use evaluation tool, but that behind these figures, the nature of the food is essential!