Calories on menus
Reflecting on the menu
The Ontario Medical Association has called for immediate voluntary printing of calorie information alongside menu items in chain restaurants and cafeterias, along with legislation and education campaigns about the calorie content of the foods we eat. Knowledge and behavior change starts with information, and the Ontario Medical Association stresses the point that without calorie information, consumers will continue to make poor choices about their fast food menu choices.
Canada has had substantial nutrition labeling on retail products since December 2007, but has not seen a decrease in obesity. The precedent is even longer in the USA, with over 19 years of consumer products labeling, and no decrease in obesity. In many American jurisdictions, calorie labeling on menus is mandatory, but public health improvements have been only sketchy at best. Information is part of the picture, but motivation and comprehension are the two limiting factors that prevent real behaviour change. The American Journal of Public Health recently published a study showing that only 0.1% of fast food consumers were aware and referred to the pamphlets, print and internet material for restaurant nutrition information. In a separate study, comparing consumers who had nutrition information either present or not during their fast food order, the difference in the calorie content of the order was 52 calories. Yes, this was a highly significant difference, but also the difference of spending 10 minutes walking. Calorie information at the point of purchase is useful, but not if people don’t understand it, or use it to modify their purchases.
Information is useful, but only if the context is understood. It is easy to bombard people with calorie information and other nutrition facts, but not useful if they do not understand what amount of calories is appropriate for them, or how to modify behaviors to allow for the occasional indulgence. It doesn’t give the information why sometimes higher calorie foods may, in certain situations, be healthier than their lower calorie counterparts. I could cite numerous studies that show consumers can’t interpret nutrition information appropriately. It’s overwhelming, and even difficult for nutrition professionals to interpret. Perhaps the point of posting calories is not just to modify consumer behavior, but to also shame certain restauranteurs into reformulating to reduce calorie content.
Information similarly not necessarily lead to motivation. Consumers choose what they do for a myriad of reasons. Most consumers would rank nutrition or food quality as their primary motivators for purchase, however price usually trumps health at the point of purchase.
Information isn’t always power. Labeling menus with nutrition information could be useful, but it won’t be the answer to the obesity epidemic. We’ve got to overcome more fundamental issues if we are going to solve obesity.
Posted by Amy Proulx.
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Food labels have been on grocery store items for years and still obesity is on the rise. I read them religiously, but not for calorie count. I want to know what I’m eating and avoid certain ingredients.
That said, I’m sure it will be a shock to many to know how many calories they’re consuming in a fast food meal. Perhaps this in combination with education and other awareness campaigns will help?
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THE FOLLOWING COMMENT WENT TO THE WRONG THREAD AND HAS BEEN REPOSTED HERE.
50 calories difference over one meal equals 150 calories per day and 54, 750 calories over the course of a year and the equivalent of 15 pounds over a year assuming someone made the 50 few calories choice 3 times a day over the course of a year. While 50 calories less per meal at first seems unimportant, it adds up.
On the marketplace segment they did about calories in restaurant foods, people estimated the calorie content of foods significantly lower than the actual content. REstaurant food is richer and serving sizes are bigger so people incorrectly assume that the calorie levels they’ve seen on tools they might use at home or at the store are valid. They aren’t. While it is clear that sweeping changes are necessary to address obesity. It is wrong to suggest that informed choices won’t go a long way to alter the situation. Suggesting that 50 calories is the equivalent of walking an extra 10 minutes simplifies the problem to a one instance situation. We eat usually 3 times a day, if not more, so this seemingly innocent statement needs further digging.
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I’m not sure why the comments are threading to the wrong location. It seems the comments are going to my Q&A section.
We are always glad to have new comments. We really want to hear other opinions, so I was so glad to hear Annette’s comments! Of course, it is impossible to solve the obesity epidemic in less than 500 words, and with my comments I really hoped to provoke some discussion. To respond to Annette, I agree with your calculations, 50 calories does add up when looked at over the long term. The NPD group (a private consumer trends organization) indicated that in 2006, 76% of meals in Canada are prepared in the home, and this value is anticipated to increase under the current economic climate. So only a very select population would be consuming three meals a day in a restaurant where the menu information would be presented.
Most consumer products come with a reasonably comprehensive nutrition facts panel. That said, we do not require nutrition facts panels for minimally processed consumer products (fruits, vegetables, meats) among a variety of other products (eg my favorite cheeses!). Should everything that passes our mouth come with the information required to make an informed decision? And beyond calories, what other information should a consumer need? Different stages of life, and disease states require different nutritional interventions. I fear information overload will discourage many people from investing the time needed for healthy decision-making.
I think the educational emphasis should be on”food, nutrition and health literacy”, in a healthy, culturally diverse, and non-orthorexic way. We severely undervalue the importance that food plays in our culture, health and economy. But I am sure there will be differing opinions! I really look forward to hearing from others about this issue!
[Reply]
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