As part of the Affordable Care Act, chain restaurants with more than 20 locations will soon be required to post calorie information for menu items. Many already do this. There is an ongoing debate over whether this information is used by customers and if they actually buy foods with fewer calories?
A study surveyed customers after they had eaten at McDonald’s. The results were not encouraging. About 60% of the customers saw the calorie information but only 16% used it to make choices about what they ordered. Customers who had gone to college used the information more than those with less education. Just noticing the calorie information had little or no impact on what people finally ordered. For those few who did engage with the information, they purchased menu items that had approximately 145 fewer calories.
This study points out that simply putting information in restaurants isn’t enough to change behavior. People need to know what to do with the information. Since it has been shown that most people have no idea how many calories they need each day, telling them that a hamburger has 450 calories is information they do not know how to put to good use.
When we make public health policy recommendations we need to be sure that people can realistic use the information provided. All too often recommendations have little relevance to a person’s day-to-day behavior. Education would help tie the two together.
