Informing teens about how much they have to walk or run in order to burn off the calories in a soda or sugary drink may persuade them to consider a lower-calorie beverage, like water. A new study involved installing brightly colored signs in six stores. The signs informed consumers that a 20-ounce (~.6 liter) bottle of regular soda, sports drink, or fruit juice contained 250 calories and would require five miles of walking to burn off. Of the 35% of teens who said they saw the signs, 59% said they believed the information and 40% said they changed their purchases as a result. Study leader Dr. Sara Bleich adds, “If you’re going to give people calorie information, there’s probably a better way to do it. What our research found is that when you explain calories in an easily understandable way such as how many miles of walking needed to burn them off, you can encourage behavior change.”
American Journal of Public Health, October 2014
#diet, #weight-loss
