Health Halo
A health halo is what happens when one health-sounding claim about a food, such as "organic", makes people judge it better in ways the claim says nothing about, such as being lower in calories. It is the halo effect in its most commercial form. Jonathon Schuldt and Norbert Schwarz demonstrated it in 2010 with Oreo cookies.
What it is
The label on a product is a cue. When it signals virtue in one respect, people tend to extend that virtue to others. Schuldt and Schwarz, at the University of Michigan, showed 114 students Oreo cookies described either as conventional or as made with organic flour and sugar. Both nutrition labels showed the same 160 calories per serving. The students judged the organic cookies lower in calories and said it was fine to eat them more often. The calorie effect was stronger among students with more pro-environmental attitudes.
In effect
The halo can reach beyond the food itself. In the same paper, 214 students read about a dieter deciding whether to skip her run after dessert. When the dessert was organic, skipping the run was judged more acceptable. A word about how ingredients were grown ended up shaping judgements about calories and exercise.
For shoppers, the useful habit is to ask what a claim on the front of a pack actually covers. "Organic" describes farming. It does not describe the nutrition panel on the back.
What it does not say
The research does not show that organic foods are unhealthy, or that people who buy them eat more. The Schuldt and Schwarz studies measured judgements made by students about cookies and a hypothetical dieter, not real eating or weight.
Nor does the health halo mean every health claim misleads. A claim that is relevant to the judgement being made, such as a lower calorie count printed on the label, is information rather than a halo.
Sources
- Schuldt, J. P., & Schwarz, N. (2010). The "organic" path to obesity? Organic claims influence calorie judgments and exercise recommendations. Judgment and Decision Making, 5(3), 144-150.