Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T03:35:46.505Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Nudging the obese: a UK–US consideration

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 April 2014

Adam Oliver  and
Peter Ubel
Adam Oliver*
Affiliation:
Department of Social Policy, London School of Economics, UK
Peter Ubel
Affiliation:
Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University, USA
*
*Correspondence to: Adam Oliver, Department of Social Policy, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK. Email: a.j.oliver@lse.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Over recent years, nudge policies have become increasingly popular (if somewhat confused) internationally. This article attempts to clarify what a nudge entails, and critically summarises some of the nudge policies that have been proposed to motivate weight loss in the United Kingdom and the United States. Despite the fact that most of the evidence on nudge-related policy has so far been produced in the United States, and that the leading nudge champions are American, the United Kingdom, at least with respect to considering policy interventions of this kind at the national level, appears to be relatively advanced. That said, nudge interventions remain of marginal practical import everywhere, and are never going to solve completely the obesity problem. Nonetheless, even a marginal effect may extend and improve many lives, a result that would satisfy most behavioural economists.

Type
Special Section
Information
Health Economics, Policy and Law , Volume 9 , Issue 3 , July 2014 , pp. 329 - 342
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Angell, S. Y., Cobb, L. K., Curtis, C. J., Konty, K. J. and Silver, L. D. (2012), ‘Change in trans fatty acid content of fast-food purchases associated with New York City’s restaurant regulation: a pre-post study’, Annals of Internal Medicine, 157: 81–86.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Behavioural Insights Team (2010), Applying Behavioural Insight to Health, London: Cabinet Office.Google Scholar
Camerer, C. F. and Loewenstein, G. (2003), ‘Behavioral Economics: Past, Present, Future’, in C. F. Camerer, G. Loewenstein and M. Rabin (eds), Advances in Behavioral Economics, Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Camerer, C. F., Issacharoff, S., Loewenstein, G., O’Donaghue, T. and Rabin, M. (2003), ‘Regulation for conservatives: behavioral economics and the case for ‘asymmetric paternalism’, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 151: 1211–1254.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansen, K. (2012), Nudge the US out of its obesity, Huffington Post.Google Scholar
Heukelom, F. (2012), ‘A sense of mission: the Alfred P. Sloan and Russell Sage Foundations’ Behavioral Economics Program, 1984–1992’, Science in Context, 25: 263–286.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
House of Lords (2011), Behaviour Change, London: The Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Loewenstein, G., Asch, D. A., Friedman, J. Y., Melichar, L. A. and Volpp, K. G. (2012), ‘Can behavioral economics make us healthier?’, BMJ, 344: e3482.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oliver, A. and Brown, L. (2012), ‘A consideration of user financial incentives to address health inequalities’, Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 37: 201–226.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sunstein, C. R. and Thaler, R. H. (2003), ‘Libertarian paternalism’, American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings, 93: 175–179.Google Scholar
Thaler, R. H. and Sunstein, C. R. (2008), Nudge:Improving Decision about Health, Wealth and Happiness, New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar