Philosophy:Canmethod

The C.A.N (Convenient, Attractive, Normal) approach to eating behavior reveals three different ways or strategies that consumer psychology can be used to provide an organized framework to help people make healthier food choices. The C is for convenient, the A is for attractive, and the N is for normal. The idea was researched and created by Brian Wansink, Director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab and others at Cornell University. The researchers reviewed over 100 studies and found three things help people choose healthier foods. The food must be convenient (C), attractive (A) and normal (N), or CAN. The idea behind the CAN approach is to make foods like fruits and vegetables visible and easy to reach (convenient), nicely displayed (attractive), and look like a good choice (normal). In a study, published in Psychology and Marketing, showed that when fruit is put in a nice bowl in your home on the counter—it becomes more convenient, attractive, and normal to grab a banana or orange, rather than the chocolate ice cream in the hidden back of the freezer. Therefore, the CAN idea helps make healthier eating choices easier. The results of this study are intended to help consumers make healthier decisions by adjusting the way they select and serve their food. The authors suggest these organizational frameworks can be used to show how research can help transform consumer eating environments.

C.A.N. Method in the media

An article on cbsnews.com describes the research as more helpful then willpower alone to help lose weight and eat healthier.

Further reading

• Wansink, Brian (2015), "Change Their Choice! Changing Behavior Using the CAN Approach and Activism Research," Psychology & Marketing, 32:5, 486-500.
• Wansink, Brian (2013), "Convenient, Attractive, and Normative: The CAN Approach to Making Children Slim by Design, Childhood Obesity, 9:4 (August), 277-278.