The NY Times reports that the FDA will soon release rules that will “require chain restaurants, movie theaters and pizza parlors across the country to post calorie counts on their menus.” The new regulations are described as “sweeping” and go much further and deeper than most health policy experts expected.
The last time I looked, the evidence for posting calorie content was mixed at best. There is some evidence that suggests that when perceived caloric content is lower than reality, posting reduces consumption. But when perceptions overshoot reality, posting calories doesn’t make a difference, and might even increase consumption. (The study cited in the NYT was based on Starbucks purchases, whose hefty coffee-based drinks often have a much higher caloric content than customers realize and therefore probably aren’t generalizable to foods at large.)
Nearly all of the health policy wonks quoted in the article were enthusiastic, but given the skimpy evidence one cautioned that the policy’s effectiveness is far from a slam dunk:
“You’ll need more time out there in the real world with this to see if it works,” said Kelly Brownell, a professor of public policy at Duke University.
It’s kind of ironic that this type of policy making is coming from the FDA, which – at least when approving new prescription medications – demands a much higher level of evidence.