Presentation Transcript

1. This study evaluated the effectiveness of implementing a nutrition intervention program to determine if it would influence point of purchase decisions by evaluating cafeteria sales. The nutrition intervention focused in on three topics including calorie, fat, and sodium. Information was presented via email, printed handouts, video emails, and the distribution of free samples. Data was collected for a total of sixteen weeks divided into three categories: pre-intervention data, data collection during intervention, and post-intervention data collection. Results were evaluated through the use of the program excel putting data into tables. Table results revealed a slight increase in the sales of under 500 calorie menu items and the number of salad bar sales, but overall sales remained constant throughout the sixteen weeks with no significant changes. Overall it was found that the intervention did not have a strong influence over point of purchase decisions. More research needs to be done to determine effective methods of education to encourage people to move into the action state of change. It was also found that for the intervention to be more effective the education needs to be completed over a longer length of time. . Specifically what will be focused on are the menu items that are sold at the homestyle station and deli specials, and grill specials. Cafeteria sales data will be evaluated through the data tool Microsoft Excel spreadsheet table. Customer satisfaction and impact of the intervention and symbols results will be gathered through a survey implemented through surveymonkeyalong with a paper copy to be distributed in the cafeteria. This is a cross-sectional research study examining the relationship between nutrition education and the point of purchase decision in the 7th St. Birsto. No recruitment of subjects is necessary for the participation for data collection. This research project will not exclude any specific demographic; research participants will include all patrons of the 7th St. Bistro whether they are staff or visitors. Abstract Background As part of the health and wellness initiative, the Just4U®program is being implemented in different stages throughout the year. In health care the program uses nutrition messaging to highlight important nutrition benefits to match current consumer wellness trends. Just4U icons are designed to be placed next to items that are lower in fat, calorie, carbohydrates, and sodium. Logos are designed to help the customer make easy, quick, and informed decisions that meet a large number of nutrition concerns. The Just4U program is aimed to helping consumers make better decisions by using modern symbols that appeal to customer needs and wants. With the increasing trend of consumers eating meals away from home that are high in calories, fat, and sodium contributing to the obesity epidemic and other health complications , consumers need to be educated. Consumers need to be informed and motivated to make the best decisions for their health. Various studies have concluded that while designating healthy items with a label can be somewhat useful, it is not enough. Education along with nutrition labeling is necessary to have an impact on point of purchase decisions. The purpose of this study will determine if a nutrition education program focusing on calorie, fat, and sodium content for the patrons of the 7th St. Bistro at St. Francis Health Center will influence sales of high calorie, fat, or sodium foods. Results of this study could determine how effective the health and wellness initiative will be at St. Francis Health Center and will pave the path for further health and wellness programs. Methodology Data collection will occur from December 12, 2011-March 2, 2012. The data will be received from the daily cafeteria sales report that is printed out the in the morning containing all of the previous day’s sales. Four weeks of data collection will occur prior to the nutrition education intervention. This data will include the bistro’s sales to determine the see the current trend of employee purchases without any prior influence. Data will then be collected for 8 weeks during the nutrition intervention. Post intervention data will be collected 4 weeks and will reflect the influence of the education on sales. The nutrition program that will be implemented is the Just4U® developed through ARAMARK. Just4U® includes information on multiple nutrition topics to help teach consumers about how to make the right choices when dining out. The program is to provide consumers with the information to make informed choices by highlighting certain menu selections. The 4 weeks of data collection prior to the nutrition intervention, 8 weeks of data collection during the nutrition intervention, the nutrition intervention, and the 4 weeks of data collection post nutrition intervention must all be collected and recorded accurately into the spreadsheet. Topics focused on for the nutrition intervention will include sodium, fat, and total calorie intake. Each topic will have 2 weeks with the remaining 2 weeks consisting of a review of the information. Information will be dispersed to patrons through the use of cooking demonstrations once a week, informational handouts, and video emails distributed to hospital staff. The informational resources during the nutrition intervention will be referenced from the JUST4U® toolkit. Data will be collected by using the Daily Consolidated Revenue Center Menu Item Sales Summary. This report breaks down the number of individual items sold and the percentage of the total sales Results Discussion Changes is sales after the nutrition education intervention are shown in table 1 and table 2. When looking at the sales of under 500 calorie items, high fat/sodium items, and healthy items, sales did not have a drastic change at any period. Sales did steadily increase in the under 500 calorie category but remained constant throughout the collection period for high fat/sodium and healthy items. Looking at table 2, the numbers did slightly increase during and after the intervention but remained similar throughout pre-intervention, during the intervention, and post-intervention. Overall, the number of items sold at the home station and salad station showed a small increase. A hospital wide mass email was sent to all hospital employees with a survey evaluating the nutrition program and the Just4U program in which there were 100 responses. When asked if the present nutrition information influenced their decision to purchase an item 63.6% responded yes and 37.4% responded no. To evaluate the interactive portion of the educational component 25.3% responded yes to watching the informational video emails and 74.7% responded no. 55.4% liked the distribution of the free samples of healthy meal options in the cafeteria compared to 13% who said no, and 32.6% that said sometimes. References 1. Black H, et al. Factors Influencing Lunchtime Choices Among Working Americans. Health EduBehav. 2006; 36:289. 2. Fitgerald C, Kannan S, Sheldon S, Eagle. K. Effect of a Promotional Campaign on Heart-Healthy Menu Choices in Community Restaurants. J Am Diet Assoc. 2004; 104:429-432. 3. Harnack L, French S. Effect of Point-of-Purchase Calorie Labeling on Restaurant and Cafeteria Food Choices: A Review of the Literature. Internat J Behavior Nutr Phys Act. 2008; 5:51. 4. Swinburn B. Obesity Prevention: The Role of Policies, Laws, and Regulations. Australia and New Zealand Health Policy. 2008, 5:12. 5. Temple J, Johnson K, Recupero K, Suders H. Nutrition Labels Decrease Energy Intake in Adults Consuming Lunch in the Laboratory. J Am Diet Assoc. 2010; 110:1094-1097. 6. Vyth E, et al. Influence of Placement of a Nutrition Logo on Cafeteria Menu Items on Lunchtime Food Choices at Dutch Work Sites. J Am Diet Assoc. 2011; 111:131-136. With the increasing popularity of meals being eaten away from home and the rise of obesity it is important for consumers to be aware of the nutritional content of their foods to be able to make informed decisions. In a review of point-of-purchase calorie labeling research articles, authors Lisa Harnack et al found that Americans are spending over half of their food dollars away from home, and that the food being consumed has a higher energy, fat, and saturated fat content. As a result of similar statistics and increasing obesity rates, nutrition labeling on restaurant menus has become a popular topic. Studies have shown that 75-80% of consumers use nutrition labels some of the time to influence their food purchasing decisions, and using nutrition labels as a decision factor leads to diets lower in fat, higher fruit, vegetable, fiber, and iron intake (5). Research is also finding that consumers are choosing items based on convenience, rather than healthy, which has led researchers to suggest that an educational program needs to be included to influence point of purchase decisions. On-site nutrition education programs have shown to be affective and increase the intakes of fruit, vegetables, and decrease the intake of high fat items. Including educational information about nutrition and nutrition label is crucial to influencing consumer preference at point of purchase. With the obesity epidemic on the rise and the increase of other diet-related health issues St. Francis health center sees the need for something to be done. Extra efforts have been put into place to promote health and wellness for employees, hospital administration has begun designing and incorporating health and wellness initiatives to influence patron behavior. The on-site cafeteria, the 7th St. Bistro is the main source for employees to eat their lunch as there are limited outside eating options which is why the bistro is a beneficial place to educate patrons on the healthy diet options. ARAMARK and St. Francis Health Center Kayla Pietig, dietetic intern, Amy Demage MS, RD, LD, Angie Steffen, Jane Kay MS, RD, LD Influence of Nutrition Education and Labeling With Point-of-Purchase Item Selection Conclusions This study investigated the question of whether nutrition education on calorie, fat, and sodium content would affect the customers of the 7th St. Bistro decision to purchase foods with a higher calorie, fat, and sodium content. After reviewing the results it was determined that there was a slight increase in the purchase of items in the less than 500 calories category and the number of purchases at the salad bar did have a slight increasing trend. Overall the results showed no significant trends suggesting that patrons purchased healthier menu items after the educational intervention. One possible explanation for insignificant change in results was that length of time spent on the educational intervention piece. Another possible reason that there were no significant changes is that people are not in the right state of change and are not looking to make a change. For this particular research study it would have been beneficial to have a larger team to work with to distribute information and help plan activities Possible limitations of this study would include the misrepresentation of the nutrition labeling presented to customers in the bistro. There were some issues with recipe standardization with item preparation. Providing education and information to employees and staff at a cafeteria should be considered an essential factor to employee wellness to help contribute to increase overall health. Overall it was determined that more research needs to be done to determine what are the best methods to appeal to patrons and the educational program needs to be completed over a long length of time with a consistent schedule. It would be interesting to continue this program for further evaluation of sales and results. Kayla Pietig, Dietetic Inter ARAMARK Dietetic Internship kaylapietig@gmail.com