Supplementing Menu Labeling With Calorie Recommendations to Test for Facilitation Effects

• DOI: 10.2105/ajph.2013.301218
• Publication Date: 2013-07-18T19:55:56Z
• Authors: Julie S. Downs; Jessica Wisdom; Brian Wansink; George Loewenstein
• Keywords: Calorie

We examined the effect on food purchases of adding recommended calorie intake per day or meal to mandated information posted chain restaurant menus.Before and after New York City implemented posting menus in 2008, we provided daily, per-meal, no recommendations randomized subsets adult lunchtime customers (n = 1121) entering 2 McDonald's restaurants, Manhattan Brooklyn, collected receipts survey responses as they exited. In linear logistic regressions, with adjustment for gender, race, age, day, tested simple differences calories consumed interactions between variables.Posting benchmarks had direct impact, nor did it moderate impact labels purchases. The recommendation appeared promote a slight increase intake, attributable increased higher-calorie entrées.These results do not support introduction means enhancing reducing contribution dining obesity epidemic.