Calories Noted On The Menu? Who Cares?

Six years after New York City started to require chain restaurants to print calorie counts on the menu, the influence of the policy on the number of calories consumed is…..nada. A New York University news release reports that researchers at NYU’s Langone Medical Center, who analyzed data from 7,699 fast-food diners in New York City and nearby New Jersey cities, found that the average number of calories bought by patrons at each sitting between January 2013 and June 2014 was statistically the same as those in a similar survey of 1,068 fast-food diners in 2008, when New York City initially imposed menu labeling. Diners were surveyed at major fast-food chains: McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, and Wendy’s. Calorie counts in the 2013-2014 analysis averaged between 804 and 839 per meal at menu-labeled restaurants, and between 802 and 857 per meal at non-labeled eateries; whereas, they averaged 783 per meal for labeled restaurants and 756 per meal for non-labeled restaurants shortly after the policy was introduced.