According to Reuters health report, New York City restaurants with more than 15 locations have been required to post calorie content on their menu boards since 2008. And a similar policy is set to be implemented nationwide by the end of this year.
However, recent studies have begun to raise questions about the impact of this calorie count labelled menus among the diners and consumers.
Though some restaurants already posted calorie counts, New York City was first to implement it - having an average of 804 and 839 calories per meal. Thus, six years later New York University researchers said that exposed caloric consequences do not automatically lead to leaner choices.
Using receipts and surveys at renowned fast food chains such as McDonald's, Burger King, KFC and Wendy's, the research team tracked customer purchases and they couldn't see a significant difference in eating habits of the entire population of people visiting the said fast food restaurants.
"We found no consistent change in the nutritional content of foods and beverages purchased or in how often respondents purchased fast food," the study further explained.
"While these restaurants do boast calorie-packed products, there are healthier options on those menus that bring down the per-item average," said study co-author Julia Wolfson, a fellow at Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, describing other possible alternatives.
"The biggest impact from mandatory menu labeling may come from restaurants decreasing the calories in their menu items rather than expecting consumers to notice the calorie information and, subsequently, order different menu items", Wolfson added when asked on benefit of this policy in terms of improving consumers' decision-making.
Initially, this initiative on voluntary calorie listing has introduced potential increase on consumers' demand for healthier food options. And if your favorite fast food restaurant has helped its customers decide and go for healthier choices by listing calorie counts on its menu, it has been a good move.
Generally speaking, consumers said that in the early years of this policy, when they saw the calorie content and would realize the number of calories they opted to consume, they had to think twice and settled for healthier meals. Unfortunately, research findings claimed that this change in the consumers' eating habits has declined over the last five years.
