Which settings are most conducive to running rigorous experiments on dietary change interventions, and how can these settings be accessed/used? (For example, college cafeterias allow data on purchases to be used, so that researchers don’t have to rely on self-reports.)
I’d suggest retirement communities. We have a fair bit of data on changing the eating habits of college students (I review the most rigorous studies in that literature in this meta-analysis), but much less on adults, and essentially nothing on older people. Like college cafeterias, retirement communities offer a lot of opportunities for oblique monitoring, as well as a bevy of potential qualitative outcomes (e.g. staff members who know that ‘Daisy always orders the chicken’ might observe that she finishes less of her meat after watching the movie ‘Babe’). My advisor suggested this empirical strategy a few weeks ago and I think it’s on the money.
As it happens, my coauthor and I suggest some studies we’d like to see in section 6.4 of that meta-analysis, and I’m working now and getting some of these off the ground. I’d be glad to hear any feedback you might have.
Very nice! Apropos of:
I’d suggest retirement communities. We have a fair bit of data on changing the eating habits of college students (I review the most rigorous studies in that literature in this meta-analysis), but much less on adults, and essentially nothing on older people. Like college cafeterias, retirement communities offer a lot of opportunities for oblique monitoring, as well as a bevy of potential qualitative outcomes (e.g. staff members who know that ‘Daisy always orders the chicken’ might observe that she finishes less of her meat after watching the movie ‘Babe’). My advisor suggested this empirical strategy a few weeks ago and I think it’s on the money.
As it happens, my coauthor and I suggest some studies we’d like to see in section 6.4 of that meta-analysis, and I’m working now and getting some of these off the ground. I’d be glad to hear any feedback you might have.