Alternative Menu Labelling of Fast Food at the Point of Purchase

Marc Gehrmann

It is estimated that more than 3 million Australian adults and children are obese. Obesity has various negative health outcomes, and an estimated annual economic cost of $58 billion. In an attempt to promote healthier food choices at fast-food restaurants, policy makers have implemented point-of-purchase labelling, in which fast-food restaurants are required to present the energy content of food numerically in kilojoules on menu boards. However, research investigating the effects of point-of-purchase menu labelling in reducing the amount of kilojoules consumers order have found no efficacy. One reason for the lack of efficacy may be due to the way in which individuals process information. Menu labelling in the form of kilojoules requires an individual to engage in a series of cognitively effortful calculations, they must have the knowledge of their daily energy requirements, how many kilojoules they have consumed, are about to consume, and are likely to consume later. Researchers have investigated more intuitive ways in which to present the energy content of food on menus. A small number of studies have investigated the effectiveness of supplementing numeric kilojoules information with more intuitive menu labelling, such as physical activity (PA) based menu labels, in which energy content of food is converted to the amount of time in minutes an average adult would need to walk in order to burn off a food item. However, more research in this area is needed to evaluate the efficacy of PA based menu labels in reducing the amount of kilojoules ordered by consumers. The aim of the present study is to add to the literature, and address several limitations of previous research. The study is an online survey in which participants are randomly assigned to one of four mock fast-food restaurant menus. The main question being, can alternative menu labelling such as PA based labelling prompt consumers to order fewer kilojoules than the current menu labelling systems?

Alternative Menu Labelling of Fast Food at the Point of Purchase

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