October 19, 2009 – Displaying calories in restaurants and on menus does not seem to be working as expected. Worse, it seems to have the opposite effect!
This is what emerges from a study carried out in New York City, which was the first to adopt regulations requiring certain restaurants to display the caloric content of their dishes.
To reach this conclusion, the researchers conducted a field survey in socio-economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
They followed nearly 1,200 customers in 19 restaurants belonging to 4 chains – McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King and Kentucky Fried Chicken – before and after the application of the municipal by-law.
Results
Only 50% of customers noticed the prominent signs displaying the calories for each dish. Of these, 28% said the signs had an influence on their order. And 88% of them said they bought a lower calorie meal thanks to the signage.
However, the analysis of the bills issued after the purchase of the meals revealed that, on average, the participants did not eat fewer calories before the display (825 cal); even after its inception, they consumed a little more (846 cal) – a difference of 21 calories.
An ineffective measure
According to nutritionist Marie-Josée Leblanc, displaying calories on posters or in menus is “not, in general, an interesting measure”.
“It’s not all a question of calories: there are foods that have a great nutritional value and which contain a lot of calories, like a salad with nuts and olive oil”, illustrates the doctor in nutrition attached to the Extenso portal2.
Same story with the Quebec Coalition on the issue of weight. “By focusing on calories, this type of display evacuates the nutritional quality of food, in addition to exerting additional pressure on those who are excessively concerned about their weight,” laments Suzie Pellerin, director of the organization.
According to her, it would be preferable to “favor a regulation or a framework which would attack the contents of the plate – on the quality and the portions – and which would ensure better access to healthy food”.
A question of education and money?
The New York study was deliberately carried out in disadvantaged neighborhoods since there is a greater increase in obesity than in the general population.
“But the results could have been different if the experiment had been carried out in a more privileged environment or in restaurants with more elaborate menus”, nuance Marie-Josée Leblanc.
“The number of calories in a food is abstract information for a lot of people,” she agrees. In addition, not everyone is able to understand nutritional information.
“Fast food chains were the first to offer nutritional information for their products through their website,” she says. It’s easy to know the fiber content of a Big Mac, but who is going to look for this information and who understands it? “
Marie-Josée Leblanc goes further in her reflection. “People know that fast foods are not the best places to eat, but other parameters must be taken into account in the analysis: food is inexpensive and, in a difficult economic context, it constitutes an affordable food solution ”, concludes the nutritionist. .
Martin LaSalle – PasseportSanté.net
1. Elbel B, et al. Calorie Labeling And Food Choices: A First Look At The Effects On Low-Income People In New York City, Health Affairs, October 2009, 1110-21.
2. Extenso is the information portal for Nutrium, the reference center in nutrition at the University of Montreal.
