Investigating the effects of calorie labels, caloric content, and food descriptions on consumer evaluations of restaurant menu items

Abstract

Existing literature has established a strong link between rising obesity rates and increased caloric intake, possibly influenced by the increasing tendency to eat in restaurant settings. Despite government regulations forcing restaurant chains to include calorie information on menu items, there has been little research conducted to see if this nutritional information has an impact on consumer choice. It is possible that consumers ignore the calorie information or are more influenced by the food item descriptions or images when they make their choices from the menu. The current study's aim was to investigate the effects of calorie labels, caloric content, and descriptions on consumer ratings of intent/desire to order, and perceived healthiness of food items featured in a mock restaurant menu. Overall, participants reported higher intent ratings when calorie labels were absent than when they were present. Additionally, participants reported higher desire ratings for high-calorie foods than low-calorie foods, and higher health ratings for low-calorie foods than high-calorie foods. Participants also reported higher health ratings for foods with "healthy" descriptions than for those with "appealing" descriptions. The current study has important implications, which could potentially lead to the development of marketing strategies used to help consumers make healthier, and more informed, choices when dining outside the home.