Choice Architecture

Choice architecture practices related to healthy food selection encourage healthier choices, contributing to improved eating habits and nutritional benefits.

Key Terms

• Choice Architecture is a design approach that is used to influence consumer choice by promoting healthy food options. Sample strategies include providing on-site nutritional information, offering healthy food options in central areas of the workplace, locating healthy products at checkout, or featuring healthy defaults, such as a side salad as opposed to chips.
• A Prepared Food Area is a commercial space, such as a restaurant, cafeteria, deli, or food truck which includes staffed food preparation areas. 

For full strategy and documentation requirements, please refer to the digital scorecard made available on the Fitwel Platform. 

Strategy Insights

• For Full Credit, one option is prioritizing healthy food and beverage options through layouts:
  • Some examples include locating a salad bar at the most central and visible part of a cafeteria or organizing refrigerators within a prepared food area to show healthy options at eye level, in more prominent and visible locations. 
• For Full Credit, one option is prioritizing healthy food and beverage options through displays:
  • Some examples include bold menu highlights on display and brightly-colored signage within the prepared food area that highlights healthy choices or educates about the healthier choices’ nutritional benefits. 
• For Full Credit, one option is featuring healthy food and beverage options as the default:
  • An example includes offering only water, sparkling water, tea, coffee, and low-sugar fruit juices as beverages and offering only a side salad or a fruit cup as the side with all entrees. 
• For Full Credit, one option is controlling food and beverage portion sizes:
  • An example includes offering only sodas in 7.5 oz servings and providing small plates in self-serve areas. 
• For Alternative Compliance, signage must be permanent, meaning it must be a durable and freestanding sign that is attached to the wall or ground, consistently displayed, and not removable by regular occupants.
  • Permanent signage should not be easily damaged or removed; permanent signage includes framed signage, laminated paper that is firmly affixed to a surface, signage in a display case such as a lucite display or another free-standing sign holder, a manufactured sign, etc.
• For Alternative Compliance, credit can be awarded if signage is located within all common break areas that are located within the project.
• A smartphone application that offers nearby healthy food options (or any similar apps) will not be accepted.

Documentation Guidance

• When providing photographs, please annotate each photograph to detail how what is being shown fulfills the requirements for the relevant choice practice. 

Sample Documentation

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