Does Calorie Labeling Reduce the Calorie Content of Menu Items at Restaurants?

A new study examined the calorie content of menu items at large chain restaurants before and after the implementation of federally mandated menu calorie labels.

New menu items introduced after calorie labeling at restaurants had low calories, according to a study published in the journal JAMA Network Open.

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.

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‘Implementing calorie labels on menus was associated with the introduction of lower-calorie items but no changes in continuously available items.’

However, potential reformulation of restaurant menu items has not been examined since the nationwide enforcement of this policy in 2018.

To examine the calorie content of menu items at large chain restaurants before and after implementation of federally mandated menu calorie labels, a new study was conducted.

This 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.

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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.

Changes in menu items’ calorie content after restaurant chains implemented calorie labels were estimated, adjusting for pre-labeling trends.

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All menu items, continuously available items, items newly introduced to menus, and items removed from menus were examined separately.

Among the 59 restaurant chains included in the study, after labeling, there were no changes in mean calorie content for all menu items or continuously available items.

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Items that were newly introduced after labeling had a lower mean calorie content than items introduced before labeling. Items removed from menus after labeling had similar calorie content as items removed before labeling.

This study suggests that mandated calorie labeling may have encouraged large restaurant chains to introduce lower-calorie items, but additional interventions should be explored to improve the nutritional quality of foods purchased from restaurants.

Source-Medindia