Labelled with Love : Does calorie labelling help?

As yet the government has not published any research on the impact of the first year of the legislation. Instead, we've looked at analysis from around the world of the experience after the introduction of calorie labelling.

Research has shown that calorie labeling can have some impact on consumer behaviour and potentially on the calorie content of foods provided by restaurants. However, the impact has been relatively modest and not necessarily consistent across different contexts and studies.

In 2018, researchers for Cochcrane, an international research network, reviewed evidence to establish whether and by how much, nutritional labels on food or non-alcoholic drinks affect the amount of food or drink people choose, buy, eat, or drink. They considered studies in which the labels had to include information on the nutritional or calorie content of the food or drink. 

The team combined results from three studies where calorie labels were added to menus or put next to food in restaurants, coffee shops, and cafeterias. For a typical lunch with an intake of 600 calories labelling may reduce the energy content of food purchased by about 8% (48 calories). The authors judged the studies to have potential flaws that could have biased the results.

Combining results from eight studies carried out in artificial or laboratory settings could not show with certainty whether adding labels would have an impact on calories consumed. However, when five studies with potential flaws in their methods were removed, the three remaining studies showed that such labels could reduce calories consumed by about 12% per meal. The team noted that there was still some uncertainty around this effect and that further research was needed to establish the size of the effect with more precision.

A meta-analysis published in the American Journal of Public Health in 2019 found that calorie labelling led to a small reduction in calories ordered and consumed. The impact was slightly larger in cafeteria or buffet settings compared to restaurant settings. However, the authors noted considerable variation between studies, suggesting that the impact of calorie labelling might depend on various factors such as the type of food establishment and the specific characteristics of the population.

Researchers in Australia in 2017 undertook a meta analysis of 186 studies on the effects of calorie labelling on consumers and an analysis of 46 studies on the impact on retailers. They concluded that displaying calorie information encouraged a reduction of 27 calories per meal for customers as a whole. For women, the reduction was 60 calories per meal meaning that it made very little difference to men. It also encouraged retailers to reduce the number of calories in each menu item by 15 calories.

The researchers admit that these are not particularly significant reductions but argue that the calorie savings could be significant over time for frequent diners.

Since 2018 restaurant chains with 20 or more locations in the USA have been required to label menus with calorie information. Fast food chain McDonald's voluntarily started labelling calories in 2012 which gave an opportunity for researchers to evaluate its impact. A long term study collecting receipts and administering a questionnaire to around 5,500 adults, adolescents and parents or guardian of school age children who visited McDonalds and a control group of outlets was undertaken in cities across New England between 2010 and 2014. 

The research found that calorie labelling made very little difference to calories consumed. Adults consumed 80 calories fewer in McDonald's but adults in the control group of restaurants consumed fewer anyway without calorie labelling. In effect, the net difference due to labelling was 19 calories. It was slightly higher for adolescents but much weaker (13 calories) among school age children.

Staying in the USA but this time from the retailer perspective, an analysis of the menu items on sale at 59 large restaurant chains between 2012 and 2019 found that there was no change in the calorie content of menu items that had been offered continuously throughout the period. However, new items, introduced after the introduction of calorie labelling in 2018, had a mean of 113 fewer calories per item.

Why does calorie labelling seem to make very little difference to consumption? Part of the reason for this could be that people are not sure how a 1,000 calorie burger and fries relates to their overall recommended daily calorie intake. Survey data from Northern Ireland illustrates this point. Data from the Food Standards Agency’s Eating Well Choosing Better survey shows that only 20% of men and 21% of women could correctly state the recommended daily calorie intake for their gender (men 2,500, women 2,000). Some people thought it was as high as 3,500 for men and 3,000 for women. If a high calorie meal is thought not to make too much of a dent in your daily recommended intake then it is not surprising that some won't think twice about eating it.

While the evidence from around the world suggests that the reduction in calories consumed as a result of labelling is minor, the spur that it gives retailers to reduce calorie laden menu items could be more significant. 

This may well be the most effective aspect of the policy in the UK.