Nutrition Labeling on Menus: Who Notices and Uses this Information?

Abstract

In the USA, approximately 50% of food expenditures and a third of total calories come from foods prepared away from home (ERS, https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-expenditures.aspx, 2017). Since many consumers don’t know or underestimate the nutritional content of these foods, many hypothesize that this contributes to the prevalence of obesity in the USA. To address this problem, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 requires the disclosure of certain nutrition information for standard menu items in certain restaurants and retail food establishments (Federal Register, Office of the Federal Register, 79:71155–71259, 2014). Using the model proposed by Burton and Kees (Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 31:232–239, 2012) and adapted by Breck et al. (Journal of Public Policy & Marketing 36:227–235, 2017), this study uses the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data collected by the US government to assess which consumers actually notice and use the nutrition information on menus. Results show that in fast-food restaurants, noticing the information does not equate to using it; those who use the information are predisposed to its use, including those who are already conscious about their diets; and the information is not used by those who are overweight but by those who are trying to lose weight. The major problem is that less than half of the respondents even noticed the information.