(Bloomberg) — Calorie labels in supermarkets and restaurants have little impact on consumer choices, researchers found, fueling doubts about whether the practice is worth keeping.
The effect of the dietary information is a calorie reduction of about 1.8%, which amounts to removing two almonds from a 600-calorie meal, according to a review by the UK nonprofit Cochrane. The researchers aggregated results from 25 studies from countries including the US, the UK and France.
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To get better results, labeling should be combined with industry-targeted measures like taxes and marketing restrictions, said senior author Gareth Hollands, a research fellow at UCL’s Social Research Institute.
Calorie labeling is compulsory in several countries. In the UK, where obesity costs the National Health Service about £6.5 billion ($7.9 billion) a year, the display of energy content was made mandatory in 2022 for restaurants, take-aways and cafes with more than 250 employees.
Its modest impact — which is smaller than in the group’s earlier findings — shouldn’t be discounted, according to Hollands.
A reduction of 24 calories per day — roughly 1% of the recommended daily intake for adults — could prevent a 9-kilo (19.8 pounds) weight gain for 20-to-40 year-olds in England over a decade, according to a UK government report.
People with eating disorders can be adversely affected by the extra information, prompting opposition from the British charity Beat. The mental-health concern is legitimate and the approach is “certainly no silver bullet,” Hollands said.
The researchers found consistent effects between various types of labeling and between restaurants and supermarkets. The results of information display for alcoholic drinks was too uncertain to draw meaningful conclusions, the paper said.
To get results, officials should consider a broader portfolio of policies, said Richard Smith, a professor of health economics at the University of Exeter who wasn’t involved in the research. “We need to be providing information such as labeling, alongside policies on pricing and the choice environment, such as portion sizing, in a coordinated way if we are to really improve diets.”
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