Bookmark & Share

Favorites	Google
Digg	Del.icio.us
Twitter	Facebook

>> More...

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has released data suggesting that a citywide menu-labeling law has helped residents make healthier food choices, Reuters reports. The rule, implemented in July 2008, requires fast-food restaurants to post calorie information on their menu boards. Hailed by health advocates as one way to address rising obesity rates, the rule has become a model for similar efforts in other areas of New York, the state of California and several other U.S. cities. In a study supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), researchers surveyed more than 12,000 customers in 2009 and determined that, after menu-labeling policies were implemented, customers made lower-calorie food purchases at nine of the 13 fast-food and coffee chains included in the study. According to the data, 56 percent of fast-food customers reported viewing the calorie information. Statistically significant reductions in calorie consumption were observed at McDonald’s, Au Bon Pain, KFC and Starbucks: Customers who both saw and used the calorie information consumed an average of 106 fewer calories than those who did not. Although consumers purchased more calories at four other chains, the study's authors said there was only one chain where the increase was statistically significant. An earlier study, also supported by RWJF, included almost 1,200 adults in lower-income neighborhoods who dined at various chain restaurants immediately before and after the rule went into effect, and it found no change to consumer habits. The city’s researchers contend that their study is more representative of the impact of the new law because it included more consumers over a longer period of time and was not limited to outlets in lower-income neighborhoods. Commenting on the study, Lynn Silver, assistant commissioner for New York's Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, said “dietary change is likely to come gradually,” noting that “it will start with consumers interested in making informed, healthy eating decisions and we hope the industry will respond by offering more healthier choices and appropriate portion sizes” (Morgan, Reuters, 10/26/09; Hirsch, Los Angeles Times, 10/26/09 [registration required]).