Waiting in line can be hazardous to your health

No matter how hard we try to stick to a shopping list, we can't resist impulse purchases. In fact, at least half of all the things we buy are unplanned, according to various studies. So it's no wonder why retailers pack checkout lanes with overpriced goodies to seduce us when we're particularly vulnerable: waiting on line to check out.  

By now, most of us realize those checkout displays aren't stocked with carrots and celery sticks. But a new study reveals that the amount of junk food at the front end—industry speak for checkout aisles—is more staggering than we perhaps thought.

The study, by the Washington-based Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit watchdog group, concluded that 90 percent of the food options at the front end were the kind of snacks we mindlessly grab when we're bored, stressed, sad, or just plain hungry: candy, chips, cookies, energy bars, and the like. Sixty-percent of beverages were soda and various sugary drinks. Only 19 percent of the drinks were water.

CSPI  analyzed checkout aisles at 30 retailers representing 14 store types in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region. The list included supermarkets such as Giant Food, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and Safeway, and a mix of other retailers such as CVS, Dollar Tree, Office Depot, Old Navy, Radio Shack, and Ace Hardware.

Check out our Supermarket Buying Guide for all the tricks and traps stores use to seduce shoppers.

The group characterized only eight percent of food items they spotted as "healthier," and just two percent as "healthy," for example, nuts and fruit.  

"Americans have a hard enough time maintaining healthy weights without retailers sabotaging their efforts," said CSPI's nutrition policy director, Margo G. Wootan.  "It's bad enough that supermarkets display soda and chips to prompt unplanned purchases at checkout.  But why are so many stores pushing candy bars on people buying towels, toys, or kids' clothes?"

Of the 21 nonfood retailers that CSPI visited, only Radio Shack, Home Depot, and a Modell's sporting goods store did not sell foods or beverages at the checkout.  Costco was the only retailer that did not display any foods or drinks at the checkout.

"In this age of diabetes and obesity, it's unethical for retailers to push people to buy and consume extra calories that will harm their health," said CSPI's senior nutrition policy counsel, Jessica Almy.  "Food stores should set nutrition standards for the foods at checkout and nonfood retailers should get out of the junk-food business altogether."

Two tips to avoid temptation

It's OK to treat yourself once in a while, but reaching for a non-nutritious nosh at the checkout to kill time is a bad habit. Sure, you can grab an apple before heading to the store so you don't shop hungry or simply rely on willpower and hope for the best. But there are better ways.

Check yourself out. Studies have shown that consumers are less susceptible to impulse purchases when they use the self-checkout. That's because most self-checkout lanes aren't surrounded by candy, soda, ice cream, and other snacks. Also, self-checkout lines tend to be shorter than staffed lanes, so customers have less time to stare at and be seduced by all those goodies.

Go mobile. How often do we criticize one another about being glued to our smart phones? Well, there's no better time to use your phone than when you're waiting to check out. Research suggests smart phones are a great distraction from other temptations, so next time you're on line, whip out your phone and play a game, check a score, or text a friend.

—Tod Marks