Abstract
The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the provision of nutrition informa¬tion on food consumption behavior. Field experiments were conducted on undergraduate students from three universities. The total number of research participants was 375 undergraduate students. Each participant was randomly selected to answer one of 12 possible questionnaires, each with a different set of nutrition information. They were subsequently provided with a meal of their choice. At each university, the experiment was conducted twice, within a one-week interval. Mean differences and regression analyses based on an ordinary least squares (OLS) technique were used. The results show that the provision of calorie information for each item on the menu and the provision of information on daily recommended caloric intake did not have an impact on food consumption behavior. Nevertheless, the selection of dishes into a recommended menu had an effect. Participants who answered questionnaires with healthy recommended dishes were more likely to choose a meal that contained lower calories by 73.97-105.4 Kcal, compared to those who were assigned with a menu highlighting unhealthy recommended dishes. However, the effect was found only in the first week and dissipated by the second week. The implication is that featuring a healthy recommended menu may have only a contemporaneous effect on food consumption.
