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Fast-food labels with caloric, physical activity equivalents encouraged lower-calorie choices
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Food menu labels that include caloric content may lead to parents ordering fast-food meals with a lower calorie count, and labels that include physical activity equivalents may be more likely to influence parents’ fast-food decisions, study data indicate.
“Studies report conflicting results in the ability of calorie-labeled menus to reduce caloric consumption in real-world settings,” according to study researchers Anthony J. Viera, MD, MPH, and Ray Antonelli, of the University of North Carolina. “Calorie labels do not appear to significantly reduce the number of calories consumed in a meal, a trend that appears to occur in adolescents as well as adults.”
Anthony J. Viera
Viera and Antonelli conducted a national cross-sectional study using a Web-based survey that randomly assigned 823 participants to one of four fast-food menus: no label (n=189), calories only (n=209), calories plus minutes to walk to burn the calories in the food item (n=213), or calories plus miles to walk to burn the calories in the food item (n=212). Participants (mean age, 38 years) were asked to imagine they were at a fast-food restaurant and to place a hypothetical order for their child (mean age, 9.5 years).
Approximately 60% of parents were overweight or obese.
On average, parents selected a meal consisting of 1,125 calories for their child, ranging from 944 calories for children aged 2 to 6 years to 1,336 calories for teenagers.
Parents who viewed menus with no calorie labels ordered an average of 1,294 calories for their child’s meal; those who received any label ordered approximately 200 fewer average calories (P=.0001).
Total calories ordered did not significantly differ between the three label types.
Thirty percent of parents said labels that depicted calories only would most likely influence their fast-food selection for their children. Labels with physical activity equivalents (mile or minutes) were “very likely” to influence parents’ fast-food choices.
Twenty percent of parents said calories-only labels would very likely prompt them to encourage their child to exercise. Labels with physical activity equivalents were “more influential” regarding exercise among children (P<.0001).
Potential influence of labels varied by parents’ health literacy status.
“[Physical activity calorie equivalents] labels may influence parents’ decisions on what fast-food items to order for their children and, uniquely, encourage them to try to get their children to exercise,” according to researchers. “The potentially resulting combination of fewer calories consumed with greater physical activity could help begin to curb childhood obesity. Real-world research is needed to evaluate the effects of [physical activity calorie equivalents] labeling for adults and children.”
Disclosure: The study was funded by the NIH. The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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