Smart Choices

Following the research I did for Phoenix and the healthy cities rankings, I was asked to do research on cities implementing menu labeling and write an executive summary. I liked the work asked of me because it helps Phoenix become a better city for future generations. While on vacation in California I noticed the menus and how it had calories for every item and I thought this was an innovative way to help citizens order consciously. I like the idea of menu labeling because it enticed me to order healthier items.

This is the executive summary that I wrote:

Menu Labeling Executive Summary

Existing Laws Regarding Menu Labeling

• City
• New York City, Nashville, and Philadelphia have passed menu labeling laws.
• In July 2008, New York City became the first U.S. city to ban restaurants from using artificial trans fat, and required calorie counts on menus.
• Philadelphia passed the nation’s strongest menu labeling law, requiring chain restaurants with more than 15 restaurants to disclose nutritional information.
• County
• King County, WA (Seattle), Multnomah County, OR (Portland), Ulster County, NY, Westchester County, NY, and Suffolk County, NY, are the five counties to pass similar laws.
• King County, Washington requires chain restaurants with more than 15 national locations and $1 million in annual sales to display calorie, saturated fat, trans fat, sodium, and carbohydrate information.
• 18 months after the King County law started, the calorie content in foods dropped. It fell by an average of 7% at sit-down restaurants, while the declines were smaller at fast food establishments.
• Researchers believe the changes are due to smaller portion sizes, and restaurants substituting in lower calorie ingredients.
• State
• California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Oregon are the four states to pass menu labeling laws statewide.
• In June 2009, Oregon’s governor signed HB 2726 becoming the third state to require chain restaurants with 15 or more locations to post calorie information on menus and menu boards.
• Federal
• Section 4205 of the Affordable Care Act requires FDA to create menu-labeling regulations that affect all restaurant chains with 20 or more U.S. locations.

The Issue with Menu Labeling

            Studies were conducted to evaluate healthier eating choices when adding nutritional information to menus; research is inconclusive regarding the efficacy of menu labeling.

The Studies

• Pediatrics journal (Jan. 2010) reported that mothers made better choices for their children when provided with menus showing calorie information, but did not make the same decisions for themselves.
• Parents ordered an average of 102 fewer calories for their children than a control group not given calorie information.
• Stanford University studied customer habits at some Starbucks locations in New York City from January 2008 to February 2009 (straddling the period when the city’s menu labeling laws went into effect).
• After adding menu labeling, average calories per transaction decreased 6%, almost all of it related to food not beverages.
• Food calories per transaction decreased 14%.
• Of the calorie decrease, 75% came from buying fewer items and 25% from choosing lower-calorie items.
• Health Affairs journal surveyed 1,156 adults eating at fast-food restaurants in low-income, minority New York City neighborhoods.
• About half of the people noticed the calorie labeling, and of those, almost 28% said the information influenced their ordering.
• However, when researchers examined receipts, they detected no difference in calories compared with people surveyed in an area of New Jersey where the law did not apply and nutritional information was not available.
• American Journal of Public Health studied 303 people eating dinner, where they were randomly assigned to choose from a menu that had no calorie information, one that had calories, or one that had calories plus prominently displayed information on the recommended daily calorie intake for an average adult.
• The two groups with calorie information ordered 14% fewer calories overall at dinner than those without it.
• The group supplied with just the calorie information that were careful during dinner, consumed more calories later in the evening and ended up eating just as much as the no-calorie information group.
• Those who had a menu with the daily recommended calorie intake ate an average of 250 fewer calories during and after dinner.

Other Issues

• Restaurant foods are typically high in calorie content.
• The recommended calorie intake for an adult is 2,000 calories daily, and huge restaurant portions cause overeating leading to obesity.
• From studies conducted, it seems there is a lack of change to healthier eating when adding nutritional information to menus.
• Researchers believe menu labeling does not work but over time will potentially be effective. When it does become effective, the city might need to be prepared for decreased revenues.
• There is widespread confusion among consumers about how much they should consume in a day. How many calories it takes to maintain a healthy weight, is the question to be considered when implementing menu labeling.