A recent study found that participants chose healthier foods and ate less when they were presented with menus that displayed the amount of exercise needed to burn off the calories in a meal.
The study was led by a graduate student at Texas Christian University, and its goal was to determine what impact exercise and calorie information had on a person’s food choices.
Background
As more restaurants around the country are incorporating calorie counts into their menus, either by choice or by law, consumers are being given more information to help them choose what foods are right for them. Researchers say despite having access to the nutritional information, people are not making healthier decisions.
“The majority of studies, however, show that providing information on calorie content does not lead to fewer calories ordered or consumed,” researchers said.
The goal of the study was to find a more effective way to encourage people to make healthier food choices.
Methods
For the study, participants were randomly divided into one of three groups. Each group received one of three menus.
- A menu that displayed no caloric information, or
- A menu that displayed the amount of calories contained in each item, or
- A menu that displayed the amount of exercise needed in order to burn off the calories in each meal. Time was measured in amount of minutes of “brisk walking” needed to burn off the meal.
Each menu contained the same food and beverage options.
Results
Researchers found that the group whose menu contained exercise information ordered food with fewer calories than the group who received no caloric information (763 compared to 902 kcal). They also found:
- Individuals who ordered off the exercise information menu consumed fewer calories than the group who received no caloric information (673 compared to 770 kcal).
- There was no difference in calories ordered or consumed between those whose menus contained caloric information and those whose menus had no caloric information.
Conclusions
Placing exercise information on menus may lead to individuals making healthier food choices. Researchers noted that the study was conducted with individuals between the ages of 18-30, so they would like to implement a similar study on an older population to see how the results might be impacted.
Dr. Silverman comments
This study is interesting, but it left me wanting more information. I applaud these researchers for attempting to find a way to get people to make healthier food choices, but I wonder why they chose kilocalories as their measurement.
A kilocalorie equals the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one gram of water one degree Celsius. How does that apply to the real world, as I don’t measure my water by the gram nor do I slowly heat it on the stove? It is intangible to most people, and can become very diluted by other confusing words such as “whole grain bread” or “low fat turkey”, which may have been on the menu. When trigger words are put on the menu, the choice becomes about the healthiness, not the actual foods. Depending on how the menu listed the items, there may be other factors that influenced food choices other than just exercise and caloric information.
With that said, understanding how food can be burned off can truly help people make better choices. If it can make people choose healthier options, I hope some restaurants consider adding exercise information to their menus.
Related source: Medpage Today