An Evaluation of the “TrEAT Yourself Well” Restaurant Nutrition Campaign

Abstract

This study examined the effect of the “TrEAT Yourself Well” campaign on diners'menu choices using data from four restaurant chains in California. Within each chain, two locations in the greater San Diego area were selected as experimentalsites and either one or two locations outside the greater San Diego area were selected as control sites. Various promotional activities, including in-restaurant promotions, community events, and paid media advertising, were conducted in the experimental region to promote healthy menu entrées. The results show that the campaign was successful in reaching diners and had positive effects on their beliefs and attitudes toward healthy dining. The campaign directly increased the probability of a consumer purchasing a healthy menu item by 3.7% ( p = .05). By improving consumer attitudes toward healthy menu items, the campaign indirectly increased purchases of these items by 4.4%.