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Study: NYC menu labeling not leading to healthier food choices
October 6, 2009
Recent studies into the impact of a moratorium on fast food stores and menu labeling may be indications that legislative attempts to curb obesity through those means are not reaching the heart of the problem.
QSRweb.com reported yesterday that a study of South Los Angeles' ban on new quick-service restaurant locations was not impacting obesity as expected. Another study, published online in the journal Health Affairs, has found that menu labeling may not necessarily impact consumers' food choices in the way intended, especially in poor neighborhoods.
For the study, several professors at New York University and Yale tracked customer purchases at McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King and KFC in poor neighborhoods in New York City, which has instituted menu labeling, and neighboring Newark, N.J. The neighborhoods were chosen for their high poverty, obesity and diabetes rates.
The study found that about half the New York customers noticed the calorie counts displayed on menu boards. About 28 percent of them said the information did influence their ordering and most claimed to have made a healthier choice as a result. However, their receipts indicated a higher number of average calories purchased, from an average of 825 calories before menu labeling was introduced to 846 calories after. The number of calories purchased in the Newark stores did not change significantly.
A number of communities and a few states have passed laws requiring chain restaurants to post calorie counts in an attempt to curb obesity by informing consumers of the nutritional content of their food choices.
The New York Times reported that nutrition and public health experts said the study came too soon after the law went into effect. And they said the findings demonstrate the difficulty in changing behavior but that it was not a reason to abandon calorie posting. (Registration to the New York Times required.)
From The New York Times:
"I think it does show us that labels are not enough," Brian Elbel, an assistant professor at the New York University School of Medicine and the lead author of the study, said in an interview.
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