We re sure you ve all been to restaurants where the calorie counts are listed on the menus. Researchers are now looking into the effects of a new kind of label on menus physical activity- based labels.
Researchers conducted a web-based survey in which participants were randomly assigned to view menus typical of fast food restaurants and place an order. Each menu had one of four different labels. The four label types were one with no nutritional information, one with only calorie information, one with calorie information as well as minutes needed to walk to burn those calories and a menu with calorie information as well as miles needed to walk to burn those calories. Results showed that the menu that included calorie counts as well as miles to walk to burn those calories had the largest effect on meal choice.
Furthermore, most participants preferred menus labeled with both calorie counts and physical activity information. But more research must be done to determine whether this may be an effective approach in a real-life restaurant.
ACSH s Dr. Ruth Kava believes that this has the potential to influence meal choices. She says, Many people don t know how many calories they are supposed to be eating so the calorie counts appearing on menus aren t all that helpful to them. By framing calories in terms of physical activity, the information may be much more useful to people. She continues While such labeling certainly isn t the total answer to the obesity problem, it could possibly motivate some people to consume fewer calories.
