Effect of effort on meal selection and meal acceptability in a student cafeteria.

Past laboratory and field studies show that the effort necessary to obtain food acts as a determinant of food selection and consumption. Two studies examined the impact of increasing the effort needed to obtain candy or potato chips on selection in a normal lunch setting. In the first study, food selection, acceptance and intake were obtained during the first week baseline and under the effort manipulation during the second week. With increased effort, candy selection dropped dramatically in week 2. Subjects substituted items from the desert, fruit and accessory food groups. In the second study, food selection and acceptance were measured during a 2-week baseline, a 3-week effort period, and a 3-week recovery period. With increased effort, potato chip selection dropped dramatically and only partially recovered in the last phase. Subjects substituted items from the starch food group. These results demonstrate that changes in the effort needed to obtain food can have a nutritional impact in an actual eating situation and could be an important part of a healthy eating strategy.