US researchers have found that asking fast-food restaurants in New York City to display calorie counts on menus did not affect the number of calories children and teens consumed. The team of researchers said that while children and adolescents noticed the calories posted on the menu, they did not choose their order based on the calorie knowledge. Taste still took an upper hand in their choice.
The study appeared in the International Journal of Obesity. It points out that calorie labelling does not affect purchasing behaviour of teens or even parents buying food for their children.
Dr. Brian Elbel of NYU, who led the study said, “It means we’re going to have to rethink what other sorts of interventions might be more effective.” Labelling foods with calorie counts was a part of President Barack Obama’s new healthcare law is included in the White House’s push to reduce rates of obesity. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says two-thirds of American adults and 15 percent of children are overweight or obese. In some states, the childhood obesity rate is above 30 percent.
For this study the team gathered restaurant receipts and surveyed 427 parents and teenagers at fast-food restaurants both before and after mandatory labelling began in July 2008. They focused on four of the largest chains in New York: McDonald’s, privately held Burger King, Wendy’s and Yum Brands Inc’s KFC. They compared this to food purchased at restaurants in nearby Newark, New Jersey, which did not have mandatory labelling.
Results of the study showed that after labelling began, 57 percent of New York teens surveyed said they noticed the calorie information and 9 percent said this information influenced their food choices. Elbel said, “What we didn’t see is any change in the number of calories before and after labelling started…We also didn’t see any changes in the number of calories for choices parents were making for their kids.” The foods teens bought amounted to about 725 calories per meal and the food parents bought for their children were about 600 calories per meal. The study found that most teens underestimated the amount of calories they had purchased, some by up to 466 calories.
Rogan Kersh, associate professor of public policy and associate dean for academic affairs at Wagner and one of the study’s authors said, “I don't think anyone really expected this kind of move would make a big difference in consumption practices… To combat obesity among adolescents, we’re going to need a whole array of solutions.”
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