Weight Loss Nudges: Market Test or Government Guess?
DOWNLOAD PUBLICATION PDF
Rising obesity prevalence in the United States has led public health experts to propose solutions to what is frequently called an obesity epidemic. Obesity prevalence has doubled during the past three decades and, as of 2009, more than one-third of adults were obese (Flegal et al. 2012). A recent study predicts that, by 2030, 42 percent of Americans will be obese and 11 percent will be severely obese (Finkelstein et al. 2012). Obesity is a major health concern, given its association with chronic conditions that include diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, stroke, heart disease, certain cancers, and arthritis (Dixon 2010).
Economists traditionally propose controlling population weight through taxing “bad” foods, subsidizing “good” foods, and implementing other policies that change the economic incentives of rational individuals. However, many behavioral economists believe that undesired weight gain is the result of unconscious and irrational decisions that result from psychological, social, cognitive, and emotional factors. In their book Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness, Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein espouse the behavioral economics view that well-designed nudges devised by “choice architects” can steer individuals toward wiser decisions that enhance their welfare (Thaler and Sunstein 2008).
Thaler and Sunstein believe that it is legitimate for both markets and governments “to influence people’s behavior in order to make their lives longer, healthier, and better” (2008: 7). However, they argue that the most important applications of nudge theory often lie with governments rather than markets. They assert that markets frequently exploit individuals’ decision-making flaws, as the following statement makes clear: “The key point here is that for all their virtues, markets often give companies a strong incentive to cater to (and profit from) human frailties, rather than try to eradicate them or to minimize their effects” (Thaler and Sunstein 2008: 74). Thaler and Sunstein acknowledge that government policymakers are also subject to various imperfections, but they believe that the noncoercive nature of nudges mitigates many of these concerns.
This paper examines the effectiveness of nudges designed to steer us toward better food and beverage consumption behaviors as a means of lowering population weight. It first discusses our state of knowledge on obesity causes and prevention. Next, it presents the basics of nudge theory followed by criticisms of that theory. It then discusses various imperfections that all choice architects—whether in governments or markets—must face that suggest that nudges are a blunt instrument for reducing population weight. Finally, the paper discusses how nudging by governments differs from nudging by markets, and concludes that market nudging is the more promising avenue for helping citizens lose weight.
