When calories and fat are in diners' faces, do they make more healthful choices? Yes and no, according to a new study that shows restaurant menu labeling may help some, but not all, restaurant patrons choose dishes lower in fat and calories.
Six full-service, casual restaurants in Pierce County, Wash., participated in the study, adding nutritional information to their menus for a month. Researchers from the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department noted what diners ordered for a month before the labeling and a month after to see if listing calories, fat, sodium and carbohydrates made any difference in what patrons ordered for lunch and dinner entrees. During the labeling period, diners were also given a brief questionnaire asking if they noticed the nutritional information, how well they understood the numbers and if they ordered differently because of the information.
About 16,000 entrees were purchased during the study period. During the menu-labeling period, entrees ordered had about 15 fewer calories, 1.5 fewer grams of fat and 45 fewer milligrams of sodium compared with the pre-labeling period. Carbohydrate content of the entrees did not differ before and after labeling.
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