Restaurant menus may be sabotaging your eat-healthy plan. And not just because there is a whole dedicated menu just for dessert.
A study by Cornell University, published in the International Journal of Hospitality Management, found that what you choose to eat boils down to two things: what you see on the menu, and how you imagine it will taste.
The study analyzed 217 menus and what 300 diners chose to eat, and found that restaurants aren’t doing enough to convince diners to make smarter picks.
And they actually have an incentive to make you eat well, too: Healthy items often have higher cost margins, since ingredients like starches and veggies can be cheaper. Luckily, the researchers offer some easy recommendations.
It all comes down to how menu items look. In lab studies, participants viewed 42% more bold listings than plain listings, and adding labels like “House Specialty,” “Chef’s Recommendation” or “Traditional Favorite” were shown to spike sales. But the labeling the good-for-you options must be discreet; explicitly adding the word “healthy” makes diners think their dish is less flavorful and indulgent.
The next best practice: Once lighter items are highlighted, it’s time to get descriptive. Calling an item a “Succulent Italian Seafood Filet” is more successful than just labeling it a “Seafood Filet.” The study found that your expectation that something will be delicious directly affects how you perceive your dish. “If [diners] taste it and they expect it to taste great, it will,” the study’s lead author Brian Wansink says in a video accompanying the study.