How behavioural economics helps us to live healthier lifestyles

Crawford Hollingworth and Liz Barker

This article explains how behavioural economics can be used in advertising to encourage healthier lifestyles and explores how the 'Intention-Action gap' can be avoided by employing this strategy.

Many of us want to lose a little weight and get fitter, stop smoking, drink less, eat more healthily - but struggle to put that into action in a sustainable way.

Behavioural scientists define this problem simply as the 'Intention-Action' gap - we generally have good intentions to do some or all of the things that we know are good for us - but frequently procrastinate, delay and may end up failing to execute any of them. For example, most adults know exercise is good for them and would like to do more, yet global studies have shown that between...

WARC subscribers can sign in to keep reading

Not a subscriber?

Schedule your live demo with our team today

WARC helps you to plan, create and deliver more effective marketing

  • Prove your case and back-up your idea

  • Get expert guidance on strategic challenges

  • Tackle current and emerging marketing themes

We’re long-term subscribers to WARC and it’s a tool we use extensively. We use it to source case studies and best practice for the purposes of internal training, as well as for putting persuasive cases to clients. In compiling a recent case for long-term, sustained investment in brand, we were able to support key marketing principles with numerous case studies sourced from WARC. It helped bring what could have been a relatively dry deck to life with recognisable brand successes from across a broad number of categories. It’s incredibly efficient to have such a wealth of insight in one place.

Insights Team
Bray Leino

You’re in good company

We work with 80% of Forbes' most valuable brands* and 80% of the world's top top-of-the-class agencies.

* Top 10 brands