The Effect of Menu Labels on Calories Ordered in Hispanics

Texas Christian University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Food Selection

Treatments: Behavioral: Exercise Labels; Behavioral: Calorie Labels; Behavioral: No Labels

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02804503

CT2016MS1

Details and patient eligibility

About

Most studies on menu labels have been conducted in mostly non-Hispanic white individuals, and how menu labels affect calories and macronutrients ordered in Hispanics is not clearly understood. This study evaluated the impact of menu labels on calories and macronutrients ordered in Hispanics.

Full description

According to review studies, calorie labels on menus is not effective in reducing the number of calories ordered or consumed. Adding contextual information such as the energy needs per meal or interpretive information such as minutes of walking needed to burn the food calories or rank-ordering the food items from the lowest to the highest calorie content may be more effective in making food selections with fewer calories. Most studies on menu labels have, however, been conducted in mostly non-Hispanic white individuals, and how menu labels affect food choices in Hispanics in not well understood. This study evaluated the impact of menu labels on calories and macronutrients ordered in Hispanics by randomly assigning the participants to a menu with no labels (no labels), a menu with rank ordered calorie labels and a statement on the energy needs per meal (calorie labels), and a menu with rank ordered exercise labels (exercise labels). Calories and macronutrients ordered by the participants was assessed.

Enrollment: 372 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 65 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Hispanics ages 18 through 65 years.

Exclusion criteria

• Not being able to read and write in either English or Spanish; pregnant or lactating women.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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372 participants in 3 patient groups

Calorie Labels

Experimental group

Description:

A menu with rank ordered calorie labels and a statement on the energy needs per meal.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Calorie Labels

Exercise Labels

Experimental group

Description:

A menu with rank ordered exercise labels showing minutes of brisk walking necessary to burn the food calories.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Exercise Labels

No Labels

Active Comparator group

Description:

A menu with no labels

Treatment:

Behavioral: No Labels