Menu labelling does help diners eat less, say American researchers

21st December 2009, 10:34am

A new study in the US has found that displaying nutritional content such as calorie information, levels of fat and salt do stop restaurant diners eating too much.

Entitled 'Impact of Menu-Labelling: People Eat Less When They Know More', researchers found varying results between the two groups of participants. Those who saw calorie labels ate 14% fewer calories than the group that did not see calorie labels.

Furthermore, when after-dinner eating was factored in, the group that saw menu labels as well as recommended calorie guidelines consumed an average of 250 fewer calories than those in the other groups.

"This shows that adding a label about daily caloric needs to menu labelling positively impacts people's food choices, driving them to eat fewer calories," says lead author Christina Roberto, MS, a PhD student in Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology and Public Health.

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