Relaxed minds for healthier food choice at school: A field experiment in southern Mexico

Abstract

Abstract Stress leads to unhealthy food choices since the school-age stage. Yet, there is limited evidence particularly in low- and middle-income countries regarding the impact of stress-reduction strategies on school-age children’s food choices. Such aspects were crucial during the recent COVID-19 pandemic, which exacerbated psychological distress and unhealthier food choices among children. During the pandemic period, we conducted a field experiment in southern Mexico to assess the impact of stress-reduction strategies on the food choices of over 1,400 children aged 9–12. Half of the school-classes in the sample were randomly assigned to a stress reduction strategy namely meditation, which comprised six audios with basic relaxation techniques and intuitive messages to guide food choices. Additionally, all participants received information signalling that an amaranth snack was nutritious (i.e., the healthy snack), which was paired with a chocolate bar (i.e., the unhealthy snack) as part of a snack choice experiment. The meditation program effectively reduced stress among treated children. The effect was larger among students attending schools in lower-income areas. In general, we found that the share of students choosing the healthy snack did not differ between the treated and the control groups. Yet, we highlighted that meditation increased healthy snack choices by 4%-points among children that chose their snack for non-health or nutrition-related reasons. Upon collecting their snack, students had the chance to exchange their original choice for the other snack. Students that meditated were more likely to exchange their originally chosen “unhealthy snack” towards the healthy snack than students in the control group. Our study sheds some light on the relevance of addressing psychological well-being to complement other strategies to improve food choice at school.