Mandatory calorie listings on menus

On Tuesday, the FDA announced that chain restaurants and vending machines are required to post calorie information on menus and product listings (e.g. see Figure 1). More specifically, the FDA announced the following:

"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today finalized two rules requiring that calorie information be listed on menus and menu boards in chain restaurants, similar retail food establishments and vending machines with 20 or more locations to provide consumers with more nutritional information about the foods they eat outside of the home."

Note that the corner Mom-and-Pop deli are exempt from these rules (i.e. it covers chains that have 20 or more locations). The rationale of the new requirement is that

“Americans eat and drink about one-third of their calories away from home and people today expect clear information about the products they consume,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. “Making calorie information available on chain restaurant menus and vending machines is an important step for public health that will help consumers make informed choices for themselves and their families.”

These rules will take effect almost immediately, and (Washington Post) "[c]hain restaurants and other establishments will have one year to comply with the regulations. Owners of vending machines will have two years to post calorie information for each item inside the machines on nearby placards, posters or digital displays."

Figure 1. I usually get a Number 1 extra value meal = 920 to 1160 calories.

Interestingly alcoholic beverages on menus are also included in these rules:

"Perhaps the most surprising element of the new rules was the inclusion of alcoholic beverages, which had not been part of an earlier proposal. Beverages served in food establishments that are on menus and menu boards will be included, but a mixed drink at a bar will not, F.D.A. officials said."

Will these calorie information help to change eating behavior? Early studies suggest that the immediate impact will be minor (New York Times):

"One of the largest studies to date, involving hundreds of millions of transactions at Starbucks, found a small but real decline in the number of calories consumers bought."

On the other hand, other smaller studies have shown no effect with the explanation that "[t]he people who most need the information don’t know how to use it.”

In the long-run, as the public becomes better educated on counting calories we may begin to see more dramatic changes:

'Marion Nestle, a professor in the department of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, calls menu labeling “nutrition education for the public big time,” and said it would take a while for consumers to learn how to use the information. “When it first starts, people will be shocked, like we were in New York,” she said. “Even I couldn’t believe it. A smoothie had 1,000 calories in it. That’s half the calories someone needs for a whole day.”

Today is Thanksgiving, and in the spirit of calorie disclosure, I am sharing the following graphic from Business Insider (Figure 2):

"[T]he Calorie Control Council says that on Thanksgiving, many American will consume 3,000 calories for dinner and 1,500 in snacks and drinks — that's a whopping 4,500 calories in a single day, 45% of which is from fat, according to the council."

Let us not forget that for moderately active individuals, the USDA recommends 2500 calories per day for men and 2000 calories for women.

Figure 2. Calorie count of a typical Thanksgiving Day dinner; you may want to skip the pecan pie.