Will displaying calories on restaurant and takeaway menus help us make healthier choices?

Background

Choices that people make when eating out of home can have a direct impact on their health. Eating out of home is linked to higher energy intake and higher body weight, which are key risk factors for obesity and diabetes. In the UK, most main meals served in major restaurant and fast-food chains contain more than 600 kilocalories (kcal) – the recommended energy content for a main meal. Additionally, one in four starters and one in five desserts in UK chain restaurants exceed the recommended energy intake for an entire meal.

In April 2022 England introduced Calorie Labelling Regulations for the Out of Home Food Sector. This requires large businesses (those with 250 or more employees) selling food in scope of the Regulations to display the energy content of the food in kcal, reference the size of the portion to which the calorie information relates and display the statement that ‘adults need around 2000 kcal a day’. The requirement extends to food that is sold on a website or mobile application, including third party delivery apps. Existing research has shown that providing calorie content of individual food items does not appear to have much of an effect in reducing calorie consumption. However, some evidence shows that providing information on the total amount of calories might lead to a greater effect.

In this project we conduct an online Menu-Based Choice Experiment (MBCE) to model consumers’ responses to calorie labelling on five different online takeaway food menus. This project started in April 2022 and is expected to finish in May 2023. It is in collaboration with researchers at the University of Reading, University of Exeter and Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Mission

The project aims to examine whether providing information on the total amount of calories ordered in an online setting leads to healthier food choices compared to providing calorie information for individual items only (i.e., the existing policy condition) and compared to providing no calorie information at all.

Furthermore, we are asking the respondents about their knowledge and perception of calorie labelling and factors they consider important when making food choices. Findings from this study will enhance the existing evidence base on the effectiveness of provision of calorie information in encouraging healthier out of home food choices with the potential of informing policy designs and thus improving health outcomes.  

Team

Laura Cornelsen, Associate Professor in Public Health Economics

Steven Cummins, Professor of Population Health

Oana Tanasache, Research Fellow in Public Health Economics