ArticleCanadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique2019
The calorie counter-intuitive effect of restaurant menu calorie labelling.
Article in Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Physical activity calorie equivalent (PACE) food labelling on discretionary foods in secondary school canteens in England: an efficacy cluster randomised controlled trial.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2025Trial
- Evaluation of physical activity calorie equivalent (PACE) labels' impact on energy purchased in cafeterias: A stepped-wedge randomised controlled trial.PLoS medicine · 2022Trial
- 'I think from my experience, it's a negative thing for most people': Exploring the perspectives of young British women opposed to the calories on menus policy in the UK.Journal of health psychology · 2025Article
- Impact of out-of-home nutrition labelling on people with eating disorders: a systematic review and meta-synthesis.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- Article
- Assessing public perception and awareness of UK mandatory calorie labeling in the out-of-home sector: Using Twitter and Google trends data.Obesity science & practice · 2023Article
- Energy labelling of alcoholic drinks: An important or inconsequential obesity policy?Obesity science & practice · 2023Review
- Article
- "Maybe a little bit of guilt isn't so bad for the overall health of an individual": a mixed-methods exploration of young adults' experiences with calorie labelling.BMC public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
As of January 1, 2017, the Healthy Menu Choices Act mandates that food service premises with 20 or more locations in Ontario must display the number of calories in every food item sold on menus. The impetus for this legislation was to enable Ontarians to become aware of the calorie content of foods and beverages consumed outside the home, and make healthier dietary choices while dining out. Though arising as an initiative to attenuate the development of obesity and current obesity rates, evidence suggests menu labelling does not significantly alter individuals' food choices. Moreover, focusing primarily on caloric content may be an ineffective, and perhaps detrimental, strategy to effect change in the obesity epidemic. Beyond the initiative's questionable utility, there has been a lack of consideration as of yet to the unintended negative implications this initiative may have on eating disorder (ED) symptomatology in the general population and those attempting to recover from an ED. The objective of the current commentary is thus to argue that in light of evidence of minimal benefit and the potential for harm, nutrition labelling on menus may be a misguided public health initiative.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.