BBC
BBC News Health
19 July 2011 Last updated at 00:54 GMT
Nudge not enough to change lifestyles - peers
By Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News
smoking The government is pilot the nudge theory in a number of areas including
smoking cessation
Plans to get people to adopt healthier lifestyles will not work unless the
government is more prepared to use legislation, peers believe.
The House of Lords science and technology committee said ministers seemed to be
mistaken in their use of what is known as the nudge theory.
Nudging people is about getting them to change their behaviour without
necessarily banning activities.
But the group said that did not mean legislation should not be used at all.
Both the prime minister and Health Secretary Andrew Lansley are known to be
admirers of the nudge theory.
It formed a key part of the government's public health strategy which was set
out at the end of last year.
A unit has also been established in the Cabinet Office to push ahead with
policies. Pilots to get people to quit smoking and increase organ donor
registration have already been arranged.
'Important lever'
But the cross-party group of peers suggested there was confusion within
government over what nudging actually involved, as they had been given
different definitions by officials.
The peers also said the government's pursuit of non-regulatory steps had
created an environment whereby nudge was being seen as something that did not
require legislation.
Continue reading the main story
What is nudge?
* It is an idea based on a book by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein which
advocates influencing behaviour by altering the context or environment in which
people choose.
* It differs from traditional approaches to changing lifestyles which tend
to be more overt.
* Conventional measures might include steps such as bans, using tax to
increase price or promotional campaigns.
* But nudge tends to be more subtle, perhaps involving providing
information about social norms.
* It can also include changing the environment, such as installing fewer
lifts in a building to encourage people to use the stairs more.
* Another approach is altering the 'default setting' so that people get
salad with their meal rather than say chips unless they specifically ask for
them.
* Why a nudge is not enough
But they said this was not always the case, recommending the government took
steps to ensure traffic light labelling appears on food.
This contrasts with the government's tactics to date which have been more
focused on using voluntary agreements.
For example, earlier this year ministers launched the "responsibility deal"
which saw more than 170 companies put their names to a series of pledges
covering physical activity, alcohol, health at work and food.
The committee is also calling for an independent chief social scientist to be
appointed to provide government with "robust" advice.
Committee chairman Baroness Neuberger said: "There are all manner of things
that the government want us to do - lose weight, give up smoking, use the car
less, give blood - but how can they get us to do them?
"It won't be easy and this inquiry has shown that it certainly won't be
achieved through using nudges, or any other sort of intervention, in isolation."
Professor Lindsey Davies, president of the UK Faculty of Public Health, said it
was a "welcome and timely report".
"The public health profession has long argued that 'nudging' is but one aspect
of a wide programme of interventions to help people make changes in their lives
which promote good health and wellbeing."
A Cabinet Office spokesman said the recommendations would be considered.
But he added: "We are glad that they recognise that that the application of
behavioural insights continues to be an important policy lever for government.
These often complement other, more traditional policy tools."
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