Understanding the Calorie Labeling Paradox in Chain Restaurants: Why Menu Calorie Labeling Alone May Not Affect Average Calories Ordered (original) (raw)
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International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 2013
Background: Recent legislation has required calorie labels on restaurant menus as a means of improving Americans' health. Despite the growing research in this area, no consensus has been reached on the effectiveness of menu labels. This suggests the possibility of heterogeneity in responses to caloric labels across people with different attitudes and demographics. The purpose of this study was to explore the potential relationships between caloric intake and diners' socio-economic characteristics and attitudes in a restaurant field experiment that systematically varied the caloric information printed on the menus. Methods: We conducted a field experiment in a full service restaurant where patrons were randomly assigned to one of three menu treatments which varied the amount of caloric information printed on the menus (none, numeric, or symbolic calorie label). At the conclusion of their meals, diners were asked to complete a brief survey regarding their socio-economic characteristics, attitudes, and meal selections. Using regression analysis, we estimated the number of entrée and extra calories ordered by diners as a function of demographic and attitudinal variables. Additionally, irrespective of the menu treatment to which a subject was assigned, our study identified which types of people are likely to be low-, medium-, and high-calorie diners. Results: Results showed that calorie labels have the greatest impact on those who are least health conscious. Additionally, using a symbolic calorie label can further reduce the caloric intake of even the most health conscious patrons. Finally, calorie labels were more likely to influence the selection of the main entrée as opposed to supplemental items such as drinks and desserts. Conclusions: If numeric calorie labels are implemented (as currently proposed), they are most likely to influence consumers who are less health consciousprobably one of the key targets of this legislation. Unfortunately, numeric labels did little for those consumers who were already more knowledgeable about health and nutrition. To reach a broader group of diners, a symbolic calorie label may be preferred as it reduced caloric intake across all levels of health consciousness.
Economics and human biology, 2016
In order to test the effect of calorie information on fast food choices, we conducted a questionnaire employing two types of stated preferences methods (the best-worst-scaling and intentional questions) and a follow-up randomized field experiment in a sample of 119 participants. This combined approach allowed us to test the internal validity of preferences for fast food meals across elicitation scenarios. The results showed that calorie information reduces the probability of selecting high calorie meals only in the questionnaire, while it did not have any significant impact on actual purchasing behavior in the field experiment. Thus, the findings show that there is a clear difference between the role of calorie information on immediate stated preference choices, and the relatively low level of responsiveness in real choices in a restaurant. We believe that the current results are quite suggestive, indicating the limits of predicting actual fast food behavior, and may open the way to...
JAMA Network Open
IMPORTANCE Calorie labeling on menus is required in US chain food establishments with 20 or more locations. This policy may encourage retailers to offer lower-calorie items, which could lead to a public health benefit by reducing customers' calorie intake from prepared foods. However, potential reformulation of restaurant menu items has not been examined since nationwide enforcement of this policy in 2018. OBJECTIVE To examine the calorie content of menu items at large chain restaurants before and after implementation of federally mandated menu calorie labels. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This pre-post cohort study used restaurant menu data from MenuStat, a database of nutrition information for menu items offered in the largest chain restaurants in the US, collected annually from 2012 to 2019. The study comprised 35 354 menu items sold at 59 large chain restaurants in the US. Statistical analysis was conducted from February 4 to October 8, 2021. INTERVENTION Nationwide implementation of menu calorie labeling. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Changes in menu items' calorie content after restaurant chains implemented calorie labels were estimated, adjusting for prelabeling trends. All menu items, continuously available items, items newly introduced to menus, and items removed from menus were examined separately. RESULTS Among the 59 restaurant chains included in the study, after labeling, there were no changes in mean calorie content for all menu items (change = −2.0 calories; 95% CI, −8.5 to 4.4 calories) or continuously available items (change = −2.3 calories; 95% CI, −11.5 to 6.3 calories). Items that were newly introduced after labeling, however, had a lower mean calorie content than items introduced before labeling (change = −112.9 calories; 95% CI, −208.6 to −25.2 calories), although there was heterogeneity by restaurant type. Items removed from menus after labeling had similar calorie content as items removed before labeling (change = 0.5 calories; 95% CI, −79.4 to 84.0 calories). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this cohort study of large chain restaurants, implementing calorie labels on menus was associated with the introduction of lower-calorie items but no changes in continuously available or removed items.
Journal of Retailing, 2018
Restaurants with 20 or more locations will soon be required to disclose calorie information on menus and menu boards. Retailers not included in this mandate can choose to voluntarily provide calorie information. To better understand the implications of this major policy change for food retailers, this research examines how consumers' retailer-related responses are affected by menu calorie labeling. A framework based on the attribution theory and the health halo literatures is developed, and three primary studies, including a field experiment, are used to test the proposed direct, moderating, and mediating effects derived from this conceptualization. Findings across the studies show that menu calorie labeling has a positive direct effect on perceptions of the restaurant's concern for customers' well-being and positive indirect effects on attitudes toward the restaurant and patronage intentions. However, these direct and indirect effects are attenuated when the restaurant is perceived to be more (vs. less) healthful and when menu calorie labeling is mandatory (vs. voluntary). The implications of these findings for retail and restaurant management are discussed.
Appetite, 2013
In the United States (US), based on the 2010 Affordable Care Act, restaurant chains and similar retail food establishments with 20 or more locations are required to begin implementing calorie information on their menus. As enacting of the law begins, it is important to understand its potential for improving consumers' healthful behaviors. Therefore, the objective of this study was to explore relationships among users of grocery nutrition labels and attitudes toward restaurant menu labeling, along with the caloric content of their restaurant menu selection. Study participants were surveyed and then provided identical mock restaurant menus with or without calories. Results found that participants who used grocery nutrition labels and believed they would make healthy menu selections with nutrition labels on restaurant menus made healthier menu selections, regardless of whether the menu displayed calories or not. Consumers' nutrition knowledge and behaviors gained from using grocery nutrition labels and consumers' desire for restaurants to provide nutrition menu labels have a positive effect on their choosing healthful restaurant menu items.
BMJ, 2019
ObjectiveTo evaluate whether calorie labeling of menus in large restaurant chains was associated with a change in mean calories purchased per transaction.DesignQuasi-experimental longitudinal study.SettingLarge franchise of a national fast food company with three different restaurant chains located in the southern United States (Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi) from April 2015 until April 2018.Participants104 restaurants with calorie information added to in-store and drive-thru menus in April 2017 and with weekly aggregated sales data during the pre-labeling (April 2015 to April 2017) and post-labeling (April 2017 to April 2018) implementation period.Main outcome measuresPrimary outcome was the overall level and trend changes in mean purchased calories per transaction after implementation of calorie labeling compared with the counterfactual (ie, assumption that the pre-intervention trend would have persisted had the intervention not occurred) using interrupted time series analyses...
Calorie labeling and fast food choices in surveys and actual markets: some new behavioral results
2013
We conducted a survey and a randomized natural experiment with the same subjects to investigate the effect of information about calorie intake on fast food choices. This combined approach allows us to maximize both internal and external research validity and test consistency of findings. We find that providing information about calories in a survey context for fast food menus has a moderate effect on calorie consumption, decreasing on average by 2.96 percent the amount of calories of the selected food choices. However, the same nutritional information had no significant impact on actual purchases in the restaurant context. Among the possible menus, the salad menu (the healthiest menu) was the most preferred option by those respondents who received nutritional information in the survey context; whereas in the restaurant, the most popular choice for the same group of people was the “Double bacon burger option” (the least healthy option). Finally, we find that the average calorie conte...
PLOS Medicine, 2021
Background Calorie menu labeling is a policy that requires food establishments to post the calories on menu offerings to encourage healthy food choice. Calorie labeling has been implemented in the United States since May 2018 per the Affordable Care Act, but to the best of our knowledge, no studies have evaluated the relationship between calorie labeling and meal purchases since nationwide implementation of this policy. Our objective was to investigate the relationship between calorie labeling and the calorie and nutrient content of purchased meals after a fast food franchise began labeling in April 2017, prior to the required nationwide implementation, and after nationwide implementation of labeling in May 2018, when all large US chain restaurants were required to label their menus. Methods and findings We obtained weekly aggregated sales data from 104 restaurants that are part of a fast food franchise for 3 national chains in 3 US states: Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. The fra...
The Impact of Nutrition Labeling on Menus: A Naturalistic Cohort Study
American Journal of Health Behavior, 2015
Objectives: To examine the impact of a calorie label intervention on cafeteria menus. Methods: Exit surveys were conducted in a university cafeteria. Participants were surveyed at baseline and one week after calorie labels were displayed. We assessed changes in noticing and use of nutrition information, the calorie content of food purchased, and estimated calorie consumption. Results: The intervention was associated with significant increases in noticing nutrition information (92.5% vs 39.6%; p < .001), and the use of nutrition information to guide food purchases (28.9% vs 8.8%; p < .001). The calorie content of foods purchased decreased after calorie labels were posted (B =-88.69, p = .013), as did the estimated amount of calories consumed (B =-95.20, p = .006). Conclusions: Findings suggest that displaying calorie amounts on menus can help reduce excess energy intake.