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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – We are a country that loves quick fixes. So the assumption is, if restaurants post calorie information people will automatically eat better and ultimately get slimmer. This could also be called a giant leap of faith.
As I discussed in a previous column (Restaurants Become A Political Hot Button) legislation is marching across local municipalities and through the Congress to mandate calorie posting in chain restaurants. Even the restaurant industry is behind this initiative, feeling it is wiser to cooperate than stonewall this legislation. The missing piece in this picture is that no one is sure if the cost of this legislation will achieve the desired result – slimmer, healthier Americans.
The association between eating out and weight-related diseases – high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes – is speculative. Though in all fairness, unhealthy choices and super-sized portions bear some responsibility for the obesity problems in the US. But, will calorie and nutrition information posting help to reserve this trend? The Medicare Health Support program, including 200,000 patients, didn’t meet its goals of lowering Medicare payments by providing prevention services. Changing behavior takes a long time and isn’t achieved by simple solutions.
Making people more aware of what they eat may be useful. But, information must come with education. In a study from the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers examined whether customers understood calorie labeling in restaurants. About half of the customers reported that they never looked at the calorie information before ordering. It isn’t that consumers are disinterested, but many lack the fundamental knowledge to understand how the number posted on the menu board fits into their overall calorie need. Most people can’t accurately identify how many calories they need in a day, so knowing that a hamburger has 490 calories has little meaning.
In another study of 4,311 customers, less than 0.1% looked at calorie information before ordering. This study concluded that if the information was more prominent it might be better utilized. This conclusion has merit. When calories are prominently posted near the actual food, customers order choices that average 50 fewer calories. For customers that use calorie information, their meals average 99 fewer calories.
In a survey conducted in early 2009, New York City customers said that calorie posting is changing the way they eat. Many are ordering different foods or lower calorie items. Over 80% were surprised at the calorie counts on some routinely ordered items. One-third said they have stopped going to certain restaurants as a result of calorie postings. The limitation of this study is that it reported what people said they were doing, which in fact, may not be what they are actually doing. Self-reporting is notorious for good behavior.
Another study examined why people choose to eat in chain restaurants. The top three reasons were: quick, easy to get to the restaurant, and the food tastes good. It’s estimated that one in four Americans visit a chain restaurant each day. Few people report going to restaurants to eat healthy. In fact, healthy items often sell poorly, as people equate healthy with lack of taste or not inviting. Customers routinely equate delicious with those menu items that are high in calories.
Restaurants register receipts show that menu labeling mandates have minimal effect on dining habits. Higher calories items have a slight drop in sales immediately after calorie posting but return to normal levels shortly thereafter. Calorie information seems to be used mostly by those already interested in their health. For the general, less-informed public it has limited effect.
For consumers located in poorer neighborhoods, chain restaurants may be the only option for many who do not own cars. Lacking mobility means people buy from the nearest source. In many poor neighborhoods supermarkets are scarce and value meals are filling, affordable and available. Lack of mobility creates extreme inequality to affordable, healthy food. When choices are few, calorie posting may have little value.
Even if you choose not to go to chain restaurants, the restaurants may come to you. As eating out is declining because money is tight, restaurant chains keep their name prominent in customers’ minds by branding supermarket choices. Dunkin’ Donuts sells coffee. Starbucks has ice cream. California Pizza kitchen sells frozen sandwiches and pizza. Burger King will soon penetrate the produce aisle with Apple Fries, fresh apple slices packaged in a french fry container.
There is no question it is always better for consumers to have access to more, rather than less, information. But, public health initiatives cannot be totally effective if people can’t use the information provided.
Posting calorie and nutrition information may not be the most effective solution. Maybe we need a simpler approach, such as a stoplight symbol to group foods into categories: red, stop and think about this choice; yellow, go easy; and green, enjoy. And, even more importantly, until a $.99 value meal is more expensive than a pound of fresh grapes, economics, not calories may drive the choice.
© NRH Nutrition Consultants, Inc.
Jo-Ann Heslin, MA, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian and the author of the nutrition counter series for Pocket Books with 12 current titles and sales in excess of 7 million books. The books are widely available at your local or on-line bookseller.
Current titles include:
The Complete Food Counter, 3rd ed., 2009
The Fat Counter, 7th ed., 2009
The Healthy Wholefoods Counter, 2008
The Cholesterol Counter, 7th Ed., 2008
The Diabetes Carbohydrate and Calorie Counter, 3rd Ed., 2007
The Calorie Counter, 4th Ed., 2007
For more information on Jo-Ann and her books, go to The Nutrition Experts
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