Internet Shopping and Your Conscience
ABC News reports that researchers in Australia offered people participating in an Internet shopping experiment the opportunity to get dietary advice as they shopped for food. They could choose general advice or specific advice that offered lower fat alternatives to their food choices.
The researchers found that those who got tailored dietary tips bought lower fat foods on average than those getting the general advice. Read the article here.
Dr. David Katz, an ABC News Medical contributor and nutritionist at Yale University wants to see the technology make its way to America.
This could be the new wave of grocery shopping online. But do American consumers really want a nagging voice of conscience following them to the food aisle? How can we sneak that purchase of Dove bars with our Internet shopping service looking over our shoulder and shaking its disapproving programming at us? Don’t we sometimes deserve those guilty pleasures?
If the programming can be used to help us make better nutrition choices, could it also be used to beautify the general population? Why not use it for clothes shopping online? We could get helpful advice like “those pants will make your butt look huge” or “don’t you think you’re too old to wear a mini-skirt?”. Perhaps it could rid the malls of overweight women in spandex.
I know, that’s just a dream.
From the madeup Chicago Times:
A local man was arrested this week for destruction of public property apparently he beat a computer with a box of twinkies and was hauled off by local security at the local grocery store.
when asked why he did this Mr. J. Torrell stated “No machine tells me that I can’t eat what I want, my doctor is bad enough.” He is currently awaiting sentencing.
By Janus on September 26th, 2006 at 5:48 pm
NYC is considering banning all trans fat from restaurant food. They are facing widespread closing of all McDonalds and donut shops. The food police are on the prowl again.
By Andrea on September 27th, 2006 at 10:34 am