Efficacy of calorie labelling for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages on restaurant menus on noticing information, calorie knowledge, and perceived and actual influence on hypothetical beverage orders: a randomized trial

Hobin, Erin; Weerasinghe, Ashini; Schoer, Nicole; Vanderlee, Lana; Shokar, Simran; Orr, Sarah; Poon, Theresa; Hammond, David

doi:10.17269/s41997-021-00599-0

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The World Health Organization recommends that successful alcohol labelling legislation should include information about the harm from alcohol [ 56 ] and be consistent with non‐alcoholic drink labelling, including the provision of calorie information [ 55 ]. Regardless of whether or not labelling can elicit meaningful effects on behaviour, information on calories can enable people to accurately estimate calorie intake from drinks [ 57 ] and appears to be highly acceptable to the public. It may also lead to indirect impacts, for example by encouraging industry and supermarkets to increase the availability or promotion of lower calorie alternatives [ 44 , 58 , 59 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of health warning labels and calorie labels on selection and purchasing of alcoholic and non‐alcoholic drinks: A randomized controlled trial

et al. 2023

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AimsTo estimate the impact on selection and actual purchasing of (a) health warning labels (text‐only and image‐and‐text) on alcoholic drinks and (b) calorie labels on alcoholic and non‐alcoholic drinks.DesignParallel‐groups randomised controlled trial.SettingDrinks were selected in a simulated online supermarket, before being purchased in an actual online supermarket.ParticipantsAdults in England and Wales who regularly consumed and purchased beer or wine online (n = 651). Six hundred and eight participants completed the study and were included in the primary analysis.InterventionsParticipants were randomized to one of six groups in a between‐subjects three [health warning labels (HWLs) (i): image‐and‐text HWL; (ii) text‐only HWL; (iii) no HWL] × 2 (calorie labels: present versus absent) factorial design (n per group 103–113).MeasurementsThe primary outcome measure was the number of alcohol units selected (with intention to purchase); secondary outcomes included alcohol units purchased and calories selected and purchased. There was no time limit for selection. For purchasing, participants were directed to purchase their drinks immediately (although they were allowed up to 2 weeks to do so).FindingsThere was no evidence of main effects for either (a) HWLs or (b) calorie labels on the number of alcohol units selected (HWLs: F(2,599) = 0.406, P = 0.666; calorie labels: F(1,599) = 0.002, P = 0.961). There was also no evidence of an interaction between HWLs and calorie labels, and no evidence of an overall difference on any secondary outcomes. In pre‐specified subgroup analyses comparing the ‘calorie label only’ group (n = 101) with the ‘no label’ group (n = 104) there was no evidence that calorie labels reduced the number of calories selected (unadjusted means: 1913 calories versus 2203, P = 0.643). Among the 75% of participants who went on to purchase drinks, those in the ‘calorie label only’ group (n = 74) purchased fewer calories than those in the ‘no label’ group (n = 79) (unadjusted means: 1532 versus 2090, P = 0.028).ConclusionsThere was no evidence that health warning labels reduced the number of alcohol units selected or purchased in an online retail context. There was some evidence suggesting that calorie labels on alcoholic and non‐alcoholic drinks may reduce calories purchased from both types of drinks.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of health warning labels and calorie labels on selection and purchasing of alcoholic and non‐alcoholic drinks: A randomized controlled trial

et al. 2023

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“…The World Health Organisation recommends that successful alcohol labelling legislation should include information about the harm from alcohol 44 and be consistent with non-alcoholic drink labelling, including the provision of calorie information 43 . Regardless of whether labelling can elicit meaningful effects on behaviour, information on calories can enable people to accurately estimate calorie intake from drinks 45 and appears to be highly acceptable to the public. It may also lead to indirect impacts, for example by encouraging industry and supermarkets to increase the availability or promotion of lower calorie alternatives 33,46,47 .…”

Section: Implications For Future Research and Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of health warning labels and calorie labels on selection and purchasing of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks: a randomised controlled trial

Clarke

Ferrar

Pechey

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Objective Health warning and calorie labels on alcohol have the potential to reduce consumption at population level but remain unevaluated using robust designs with behavioural outcomes. The aim of the current study is to estimate the impact on selection and actual purchasing of (a) health warning labels (text-only and image-and-text) on alcoholic drinks and (b) calorie labels on alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Design Parallel-groups randomised controlled trial. Setting Participants selected drinks in a simulated online supermarket, before purchasing them in an actual online supermarket. Participants Adults in England and Wales who regularly consumed and purchased beer or wine online (n= 644). Interventions Participants were randomised to one of six groups in a between-subjects 3 (Health warning labels (HWLs): i. image-and-text HWL, ii. text-only HWL, iii. no HWL) x 2 (Calorie labels: present vs absent) factorial design. Main outcome measures The number of alcohol units selected (with intention to purchase); secondary outcomes included alcohol units purchased and calories selected and purchased. Results 608 participants completed the study and were included in the primary analysis. There was no evidence of an overall difference for either (a) HWLs, or (b) calorie labels on the number of alcohol units selected [HWLs: F(2,599) = 0.406, p = .666; calorie labels: F(1,599) = 0.002, p = .961]. There was also no evidence of an overall difference on any secondary outcomes, including the number of alcohol units purchased [HWLs: F(2,462) = 1.85, p = .159; calorie labels: F(1,462) = 0.193, p = .661]. In pre-specified subgroup analyses comparing the 'calorie label only' group (n = 101) to the 'no label' group (n = 104) there was no evidence that calorie labels reduced the number of calories selected [unadjusted means: 1913 calories vs 2203 calories, p = .643]. Amongst the 75% of participants who went on to purchase drinks, those in the 'calorie label only' group (n = 74) purchased fewer calories than those in the 'no label' group (n = 79) [unadjusted means: 1532 calories vs 2090, p = .028]. Conclusion There was no evidence that health warning labels reduced the number of alcohol units selected or purchased in an online purchasing setting. There was some evidence suggesting that calorie labels on alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks may reduce calories purchased. Further evaluation is warranted in suitably powered studies in real world settings. Trial registration Pre-registered protocol (https://osf.io/ch2sm/) and prospective ISCRTN registration: https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN10313219

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“…Studies that use these methods could result in socially desirable responses and self‐selection of participants into studies 36,37 . One way to reduce these biases is to unobtrusively examine individuals' attitudes through online discourse via social media and information searching 38,39 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies that use these methods could result in socially desirable responses and self‐selection of participants into studies. 36 , 37 One way to reduce these biases is to unobtrusively examine individuals' attitudes through online discourse via social media and information searching. 38 , 39 Twitter is one of the largest social media platforms, and the use of Twitter by both the private and public sectors has rapidly expanded since its inception.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing public perception and awareness of UK mandatory calorie labeling in the out‐of‐home sector: Using Twitter and Google trends data

Polden

Robinson

Jones

2023

Obesity Science & Practice

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ObjectivesIn 2021 the UK government announced a new obesity policy requiring large out‐of‐home food outlets to provide mandatory in‐store calorie labeling on food and drink items. Public acceptability and engagement with obesity policies could influence the level of impact on wider public health particularly with population‐level policies such as calorie labeling. This study aimed to examine public responses and awareness of the policy using social media (Twitter) comments and Google trends data.MethodsThis study examined responses to social media posts on Twitter (tweets) from the UK Department of Health and Social Care detailing the policy, implementation date and post‐implementation information about the policy's enforcement. The sentiments of the tweets were coded and the number of likes and replies extracted. This study utilized google trends to examine public awareness of the policy by extracting weekly relative search volume for relevant phrases such as “calorie labeling.”ResultsFrom the 276 replies/quote‐tweet extracted, the majority expressed a negative sentiment toward the policy (N = 197/71.4%). There were fewer tweets expressing a positive sentiment (N = 25/8.7%) and a neutral/no sentiment (N = 54/19.6%). There was no difference in the number of “likes” or retweets between tweets expressing positive or negative sentiments. Five themes were identified expressing negative sentiments (most common being negative impacts on eating disorders). Google trends data revealed increased searches for “calorie labels/labeling” during the week of the policy enforcement compared to previous weeks in the last 5 years but no significant differences in searches for specific menu calorie labeling.ConclusionsThis analysis revealed negative sentiment toward and increased searching of calorie labeling information during the announcement and implementation of the 2021 mandatory calorie labeling policy in England. A greater understanding of public responses to calorie labeling policies may help tailor future policies and public communication strategies.

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Efficacy of calorie labelling for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages on restaurant menus on noticing information, calorie knowledge, and perceived and actual influence on hypothetical beverage orders: a randomized trial

Cited by 10 publications

References 20 publications

Impact of health warning labels and calorie labels on selection and purchasing of alcoholic and non‐alcoholic drinks: A randomized controlled trial

Impact of health warning labels and calorie labels on selection and purchasing of alcoholic and non‐alcoholic drinks: A randomized controlled trial

Impact of health warning labels and calorie labels on selection and purchasing of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks: a randomised controlled trial

Assessing public perception and awareness of UK mandatory calorie labeling in the out‐of‐home sector: Using Twitter and Google trends data

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