Topic updates
Behavioural Economics - Battling Obesity

28th July 2017
The long struggle against smoking is the model for tackling obesity according to Simon Kuper in this article from the Financial Times.
Simon Kuper on how to solve the obesity epidemic: 'The long struggle against smoking is the model' https://t.co/AzxwIiJCdj
— Financial Times (@FT) July 28, 2017
The default bias is strong and Kuper argues that most life-long dietary habits are set by adolescence. But there are still plenty of behavioural nudges that might be applied to tackling the issue.
- Appealing to loss aversion e.g. impact on family of heart attacks / premature death
- Changing the choice architecture in restaurants / vending machines / shops / hospitals
- Wider use of pre-commitment devices e.g. parents choosing healthy school meals in advance
Conventional policy interventions include:
- Increased indirect taxes on high fat / high sugar / high salt foods
- NHS provision of weight-loss drugs
- Tougher regulations for food/drink manufacturers
- Education / information programmes / better labelling
- Changing the formulation of school meals
More on applying behavioural economics insights to health issues can be found here

Behavioural design used to prevent #obesity at school https://t.co/wZeH3hBtNX #nudge #publichealth
— The Behaviour Change Collaborative (@TheBCC_Org) August 22, 2016
You might also like

Cass Sunstein on Ten Common Behavioural Nudges
19th October 2014

Can Nanny make you stop drinking?
8th October 2014

Paul Craven: The Magic of Behavioural Economics
24th June 2014
A fine nudge? Singapore MRT vs London Tube
24th April 2014

How useful is economics? Nobel winner Al Roth
24th August 2014
The Economics of the Blockbuster
13th August 2014

Rising Residential Segregation, but Less Racial Prejudice: How Can This Be?
28th November 2013
Irrational Exuberance and Twitter shares
20th October 2013