New research shows that asking restaurants to include calorie and nutrition details in their menus forces them to create healthier, lower-calorie meals.
Starting next April, the UK government will require calorie labeling for UK pubs, restaurants and cafes with more than 250 employees.
A similar policy has been in force in the United States since 2018 and requires all chain restaurants with more than 20 locations to view calorie information.
To better understand the impact of calorie requirements on menus, experts at Harvard TH Chan Public Health School in Boston examined menu calorie content at chain restaurants in the United States before and after it was needed.
They found that the policy encouraged retailers to offer lower calorie items on their menus, averaging 113 calories lower to find items on the menu after the rules were changed. ..
Starting next April, the UK government will require calorie labeling for UK pubs, restaurants and cafes with more than 250 employees.Stock image
Calorie menu labeling rules were introduced as part of the 2010 US Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but were not enforced by the federal government until May 2018.
The goal was to encourage customers to buy low-calorie foods and to offer retailers low-calorie options.
Most assessments of this policy looked at changes in consumer behavior rather than restaurant behavior, and found that dietary calories consumed in these locations averaged 4 to 6 percent less.
This new study explores the menu items of the largest chain restaurant in the United States, collected annually from 2012 to 2019 as part of the MenuStat database.
According to experts, 35,354 menu items were sold at 59 major chain restaurants in the United States during this period.
Analyzing the data they examined, they looked at changes in the calorie content of menu items from front to back, and the restaurant began adding details to the menu.
Of the 59 restaurants included in the survey, there was no change in the average calorie content of the entire menu after labeling.
However, items newly introduced after labeling had a lower average calorie content than items introduced before the labeling rules.
This depends on the restaurant, but since May 2018, the total number of new meals has averaged more than 113 calories lower than those added to the menu before this date.
“This reduction in the calorie content of newly introduced items represents about one-fifth of all menu items for a particular year, and customers purchased these items instead of higher calorie options. If so, it can lead to a reduction in calories purchased or consumed, “the researchers wrote.
Drinks served in cafes and restaurants are also a big change as new items are added, with new items added after 2018 reducing 89 calories compared to before the rule change was introduced. did.
However, this was not the case for coffee shops. In fact, the average calories have increased by about 15 and the calories of new items since 2018 are on average 19 higher than those added before 2018.
“After labeling, the calorie content of the new product has decreased overall, but in fast casual restaurants the calorie content of the new product has increased by 180 calories,” the researchers found.
A similar policy has been in force in the United States since 2018 and requires all chain restaurants with more than 20 locations to view calorie information.Stock image
“Given that these chains make up the majority of restaurants in most US counties, continuous monitoring of fast casual restaurants is needed.”
The team suggests that the lack of meaningful changes in the overall calorie content of an item may take some time for label changes to be reflected in fast food and chain restaurant menus. I suggested.
They said, as with time, the rules may not ultimately reduce the consumption of high-calorie foods in restaurants without other interventions.
“Policymakers can consider additional interventions for both supply and demand, such as warning labels, sound default options, volume reductions, and sweet beverage taxes.”
The survey results were published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
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