FDA Ruling and Nutritionally Focused Menus—Part II: Consumer Effort Versus Nutritional Accuracy in Restaurant Menus

摘要

The landmark legislation known as the Labeling Education and Nutrition Act is set to take effect soon as a part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act passed into law in 2011. As a part of the Affordable Care Act of 2011, all restaurant chains with 20 or more units are required to post calorie counts on menus inside the restaurants and drive-thru operations. This legislation is meant to empower consumers with the information required to make healthy choices in an effort to reduce theobesity crisis in the United States. This study investigates three distinct format options for the presentation of nutritional information on drive-thru menus for a typical quick-service establishment. The results indicate that grouping individual menuitems into calorie count groups provides the most desirable option from consumers'perspective. The current findings offer more effective alternatives to the Food and Drug Administration mandated menu formats for drive-thru restaurants.