Washington State Regulations Effects On Chain Restaurants Enforcing Calorie Information Display
In King County in Washington state regulations were put in place to require restaurant chains of a certain size to display calorie information. This study examined 3,941 menu items in 11 sit-down chains and 26 quick-service chains at 6 months and 18 months following the implementation of this law. At 18 months food items remained above the recommended calorie and content counts. On average they were 157% in excess of recommended calories, 250% of recommended level of saturated fat, and 245% of recommended sodium levels. Even though menu items were not within recommended limits, the law did seem to create a positive shift, as the overall calorie count reduced between the 6 and 18 month followups. This study is useful for animal advocates working on improving health and increasing veg menu items in restaurants, as it shows that implementation of calorie-posting laws does encourage some shift in restaurants to make their menu items healthier, which might provide an inroad to encourage chain restaurants to introduce healthier veg options.
Article Abstract:
“Policies on menu labeling have been proposed as a method to improve the food environment. However, there is little information on the nutrient content of chain restaurant menu items and changes over time. To evaluate the energy, saturated fat, and sodium content of entrées 6 and 18 months post-implementation of restaurant menu labeling in King County of Washington State for items that were on the menu at both time periods, and across all items at 6 and 18 months and to compare energy content to recommendations provided by the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.”
“Eligible restaurants included sit-down and quick-service chains (eg, burgers, pizza, sandwiches/subs, and Tex-Mex) subject to King County regulations with four or more establishments. One establishment per chain was audited at each time period.”
“Hypothesis one examined entrées that were on the menu at both time periods using a paired t test and hypothesis two compared quartiles at 6 months to the distribution at 18 months using a Mantel-Haentzel odds ratios and 95% CIs, and a Cochrane-Armitage test for trend. The content of entrées at 18 months was compared with one-third (assuming three meals per day) of the nutrient intake recommendations for adults provided by the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.”
“The audit included 37 eligible chains of 92 regulated chains. Energy contents were lower (all chains −41, sit down −73, and quick service −19; paired t tests P<0.0001) for entrées that were on the menu at both time periods. There was a significant trend across quartiles for a decrease in energy, saturated fat, and sodium for all entrées at sit-down chains only. At 18 months entrées not designated for children exceeded 56%, 77%, and 89% of the energy, saturated fat, and sodium guidelines, respectively.”
“Modest improvements in the nutrient content of sit-down and quick-service restaurant entrées occurred but overall levels for energy, saturated fat, and sodium are excessive.”
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2012.04.019