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Restaurant Menu Labeling Policy: Review of Evidence and Controversies

  • Psychological Issues (M Hetherington and V Drapeau, Section Editors)
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Abstract

In response to high rates of obesity in the USA, several American cities, counties, and states have passed laws requiring restaurant chains to post labels identifying the energy content of items on menus, and nationwide implementation of menu labeling is expected in late 2016. In this review, we identify and summarize the results of 16 studies that have assessed the impact of real-world numeric calorie posting. We also discuss several controversies surrounding the US Food and Drug Administration’s implementation of federally mandated menu labeling. Overall, the evidence regarding menu labeling is mixed, showing that labels may reduce the energy content of food purchased in some contexts, but have little effect in other contexts. However, more data on a range of ong-term consumption habits and restaurant responses is needed to fully understand the impact menu labeling laws will have on the US population’s diet.

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Notes

  1. Because this paper reviews studies in which energy content was labeled using calories as the unit of measurement, we report reductions or increases in energy content using calories as the unit of measurement.

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Correspondence to Christina A. Roberto.

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Eric M. VanEpps, Christina A. Roberto, Sara Park, Christina D. Economos, and Sara N. Bleich declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Psychological Issues

Eric M. VanEpps and Christina A. Roberto shared first authorship

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VanEpps, E.M., Roberto, C.A., Park, S. et al. Restaurant Menu Labeling Policy: Review of Evidence and Controversies. Curr Obes Rep 5, 72–80 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-016-0193-z

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