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Supplementing menu labeling with calorie recommendations to test for facilitation effects

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  • Downs, J.S.
  • Wisdom, J.
  • Wansink, B.
  • Loewenstein, G.

Abstract

Objectives. We examined the effect on food purchases of adding recommended calorie intake per day or per meal to the mandated calorie information posted on chain restaurant menus. Methods. Before and after New York City implemented calorie posting on chain restaurant menus in 2008, we provided daily, per-meal, or no calorie recommendations to randomized subsets of adult lunchtime customers (n = 1121) entering 2 McDonald's restaurants, in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and collected receipts and survey responses as they exited. In linear and logistic regressions, with adjustment for gender, race, age, and day, we tested for simple differences in calories consumed and interactions between variables. Results. Posting calorie benchmarks had no direct impact, nor did it moderate the impact of calorie labels on food purchases. The recommendation appeared to promote a slight increase in calorie intake, attributable to increased purchases of higher-calorie entre es. Conclusions. These results do not support the introduction of calorie recommendations as a means of enhancing the impact of posted calorie information or reducing the contribution of restaurant dining to the obesity epidemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Downs, J.S. & Wisdom, J. & Wansink, B. & Loewenstein, G., 2013. "Supplementing menu labeling with calorie recommendations to test for facilitation effects," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 103(9), pages 1604-1609.
    • Handle: RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2013.301218_4
    DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2013.301218
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    Cited by:

    1. Gary Charness & Ramón Cobo-Reyes & Erik Eyster & Gabriel Katz & Ángela Sánchez & Matthias Sutter, 2020. "Improving healthy eating in children: Experimental evidence," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 047, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    2. Itzik Fadlon & Torben Heien Nielsen, 2019. "Family Health Behaviors," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(9), pages 3162-3191, September.
    3. Julie S. Downs & Jessica Wisdom & George Loewenstein, 2015. "Helping Consumers Use Nutrition Information: Effects of Format and Presentation," American Journal of Health Economics, MIT Press, vol. 1(3), pages 326-344, Summer.
    4. Romain Cadario & Pierre Chandon, 2020. "Which Healthy Eating Nudges Work Best? A Meta-Analysis of Field Experiments," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 39(3), pages 465-486, May.
    5. Saksena, Michelle J. & Okrent, Abigail M. & Anekwe, Tobenna D. & Cho, Clare & Dicken, Christopher & Effland, Anne & Elitzak, Howard & Guthrie, Joanne & Hamrick, Karen S. & Hyman, Jeffrey & Jo, Young &, 2018. "America’s Eating Habits:Food Away From Home," Economic Information Bulletin 281119, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    6. Ellison, Brenna & Lusk, Jayson L. & Davis, David, 2014. "The Effect of Calorie Labels on Caloric Intake and Restaurant Revenue: Evidence from Two Full-Service Restaurants," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(2), pages 173-191, May.
    7. Abu Elnasr E. Sobaih & Ahmed Sh. Abdelaziz, 2022. "The Impact of Nutrition Labelling on Customer Buying Intention and Behaviours in Fast Food Operations: Some Implications for Public Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-15, June.
    8. Charness, Gary & Cobo-Reyes, Ramón & Eyster, Erik & Katz, Gabriel & Sánchez, Ángela & Sutter, Matthias, 2023. "Improving children's food choices: Experimental evidence from the field," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    9. Dinesh Puranam & Vishal Narayan & Vrinda Kadiyali, 2017. "The Effect of Calorie Posting Regulation on Consumer Opinion: A Flexible Latent Dirichlet Allocation Model with Informative Priors," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 36(5), pages 726-746, September.
    10. Just, David R. & Gabrielyan, Gnel, 2018. "Influencing the food choices of SNAP consumers: Lessons from economics, psychology and marketing," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 309-317.
    11. Loureiro, Maria L. & Rahmani, Djamel, 2016. "The incidence of calorie labeling on fast food choices: A comparison between stated preferences and actual choices," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 82-93.

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