Do calorie labels on food products and menus really change the way people eat?
A new study finds they make a small but potentially meaningful difference in our diets.
Researchers reviewed 25 previous investigations on the impact of calorie labels on food selection and consumption at restaurants and cafeterias, in grocery stores and laboratory settings.
They found adults exposed to calorie labels selected meals that contained about 2% or 11 fewer calories than the average 600… and they ate about 35 fewer calories per meal.
“This may have some impact on health at the population level, but calorie labeling is certainly no silver bullet,” says Gareth Hollands, Senior Researcher.
However, he stresses even modest reductions can help prevent weight gain over time.
The U.S. Nutrition Facts label first appeared in 1994, and restaurant menus have been required to carry calorie counts since 2018.
Source: Cochrane Library
Author Affiliations: University of Cambridge, University College London, University of Oxford