Restaurant Menus Packed With Calorie Information Influence Least Health-Conscious Diners

Despite legislative directives that restaurants list calorie content on their menus, there has been little agreement as to whether such informative menus have a positive effect on dining choices. In this U.S. study, researchers observed patron behaviors in a full service restaurant that provided three types of menus with varying levels of caloric information. They found that: calorie labels have the greatest influence on people who are the least health conscious; using a symbolic calorie label reduced the caloric intake of even the most health-conscious patrons; and calorie labels were more likely to influence the selection of the main entree rather than drinks and desserts.