Calorie and nutrient trends in large U.S. chain restaurants, 2012-2018

Bleich, Sara N.; Soto, Mark J.; Dunn, Caroline; Moran, Alyssa J.; Block, Jason P.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0228891

Cited by 16 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Positive effects: Bleich et al (2020) reported the results of a longitudinal study (2012-2018) that examined nutrient trends for 28,238 food and beverage menu items from 28,238 US chain restaurants. The results found less calories in food items, and less calories and saturated fat in beverages, with results attributed to the US national menu labeling law [51]. Similar results were noted for six US studies that documented a significant decline in calories of certain items [19,[48][49][50]53,55].…”

Section: Changes In the Nutritional Composition By Nutrients Of Concernsupporting

confidence: 80%

“…The small number of studies that assessed other nutrients of concern (i.e., saturated fats, trans fats, sodium, and added sugars) [16,51,56,57,59] rather than just energy might be the consequence of policies limiting the regulation to reporting the energy content. All 11 countries that have implemented restaurant menu labeling policies require the disclosure of energy (i.e., calories or kilojoules).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Seven studies conducted in the US and Canada [47][48][49]51,52,55,56] compared the differences between newly introduced menu items after the baseline year of the implementation of a menu labeling policy in 2018 with those that were dropped and/or stayed the same over the years. Five studies found positive effects [48,49,51,55,56], one study mixed effects [47], and one study found no effects [52].…”

Section: Newly Introduced Menu Items Versus Common or Regular Menu Itemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Positive effects: Five US studies found significant changes made for newly introduced menu items that had fewer calories (from −57 kcal to −285 kcal) relative to popular menu items that were offered regularly and consistently at the chain restaurants [48,49,51,55,56].…”

Section: Newly Introduced Menu Items Versus Common or Regular Menu Itemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of Menu Labeling Policies on Transnational Restaurant Chains to Promote a Healthy Diet: A Scoping Review to Inform Policy and Research

et al. 2020

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There is insufficient evidence that restaurant menu labeling policies are cost-effective strategies to reduce obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Evidence suggests that menu labeling has a modest effect on calories purchased and consumed. No review has been published on the effect of menu labeling policies on transnational restaurant chains globally. This study conducted a two-step scoping review to map and describe the effect of restaurant menu labeling policies on menu reformulation. First, we identified national, state, and municipal menu labeling policies in countries from global databases. Second, we searched four databases (i.e., PubMed, CINHAL/EBSCO, Web of Science, and Google Scholar) for peer-reviewed studies and gray-literature sources in English and Spanish (2000–2020). Step 1 identified three voluntary and eight mandatory menu labeling policies primarily for energy disclosures for 11 upper-middle and high-income countries, but none for low- or middle-income countries. Step 2 identified 15 of 577 studies that met the inclusion criteria. The analysis showed reductions in energy for newly introduced menu items only in the United States. We suggest actions for governments, civil society organizations, and the restaurant businesses to develop, implement, and evaluate comprehensive menu labeling policies to determine whether these may reduce obesity and NCD risks worldwide.

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Section: Changes In the Nutritional Composition By Nutrients Of Concernsupporting

confidence: 80%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Newly Introduced Menu Items Versus Common or Regular Menu Itemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Newly Introduced Menu Items Versus Common or Regular Menu Itemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Effects of Menu Labeling Policies on Transnational Restaurant Chains to Promote a Healthy Diet: A Scoping Review to Inform Policy and Research

et al. 2020

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“…Last, we assess whether our data may be confounded by direct effects of the calorie labeling requirement on the formulation of menu items because our data postdates the announcement of the requirement in the 2010 ACA. Prior studies have documented reductions in calories with MenuStat data [60,71]. To assess this possibility, we sample menu items and compare calorie counts before and after the enactment of the labeling requirement.…”

Section: Robustnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Menu labeling, calories, and nutrient density: Evidence from chain restaurants

Mbonu

McDonough

et al. 2020

PLoS ONE

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The Food and Drug Administration's menu labeling rule requires chain restaurants to prominently display calories, while leaving other nutritional information (e.g., fat, sodium, sugar) to the request of consumers. We use rich micronutrient data from 257 large chain brands and 24,076 menu items to examine whether calories are correlated with widely used "nutrient profile" scores that measure healthfulness based on nutrient density. We show that calories are indeed statistically significant predictors of nutrient density. However, as a substantive matter, the correlation is highly attenuated (partial R 2 < 0.01). Our findings (a) suggest that the promise of calorie labeling to improve nutrient intake quality at restaurants is limited and (b) clarify the basis for transparency of nutrient composition beyond calories to promote healthy menu choices.

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Changes in Calorie Content of Menu Items at Large Chain Restaurants After Implementation of Calorie Labels

et al. 2021

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IMPORTANCE Calorie labeling on menus is required in US chain food establishments with 20 or more locations. This policy may encourage retailers to offer lower-calorie items, which could lead to a public health benefit by reducing customers' calorie intake from prepared foods. However, potential reformulation of restaurant menu items has not been examined since nationwide enforcement of this policy in 2018.OBJECTIVE To examine the calorie content of menu items at large chain restaurants before and after implementation of federally mandated menu calorie labels. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSThis pre-post cohort study used restaurant menu data from MenuStat, a database of nutrition information for menu items offered in the largest chain restaurants in the US, collected annually from 2012 to 2019. The study comprised 35 354 menu items sold at 59 large chain restaurants in the US. Statistical analysis was conducted from February 4 to October 8, 2021. INTERVENTION Nationwide implementation of menu calorie labeling. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURESChanges in menu items' calorie content after restaurant chains implemented calorie labels were estimated, adjusting for prelabeling trends. All menu items, continuously available items, items newly introduced to menus, and items removed from menus were examined separately. RESULTS Among the 59 restaurant chains included in the study, after labeling, there were no changes in mean calorie content for all menu items (change = −2.0 calories; 95% CI, −8.5 to 4.4 calories) or continuously available items (change = −2.3 calories; 95% CI, −11.5 to 6.3 calories). Items that were newly introduced after labeling, however, had a lower mean calorie content than items introduced before labeling (change = −112.9 calories; 95% CI, −208.6 to −25.2 calories), although there was heterogeneity by restaurant type. Items removed from menus after labeling had similar calorie content as items removed before labeling (change = 0.5 calories; 95% CI, −79.4 to 84.0 calories). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCEIn this cohort study of large chain restaurants, implementing calorie labels on menus was associated with the introduction of lower-calorie items but no changes in continuously available or removed items.

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Calorie and nutrient trends in large U.S. chain restaurants, 2012-2018

Cited by 16 publications

References 17 publications

Effects of Menu Labeling Policies on Transnational Restaurant Chains to Promote a Healthy Diet: A Scoping Review to Inform Policy and Research

Effects of Menu Labeling Policies on Transnational Restaurant Chains to Promote a Healthy Diet: A Scoping Review to Inform Policy and Research

Menu labeling, calories, and nutrient density: Evidence from chain restaurants

Changes in Calorie Content of Menu Items at Large Chain Restaurants After Implementation of Calorie Labels

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