ArticleThe international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity2019
Evaluation of the impact of calorie labeling on McDonald's restaurant menus: a natural experiment.
Article in The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Calorie (energy) labelling for changing selection and consumption of food or alcohol.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- The impact of the consumer and neighbourhood food environment on dietary intake and obesity-related outcomes: A systematic review of causal impact studies.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2022Pooled it
- Eco-Focused Menu Labels on Full Meal Orders From Fast-Food Restaurants: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA health forum · 2026Trial
- The Way Calories Are Displayed on Restaurant Menus May Not Affect Calorie Intake: Evidence from an Online Experiment.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Evaluating the application of front-of-package labelling regulations to menu labelling in the Canadian restaurant sector using menu food label information and price (Menu-FLIP) 2020 data.Public health nutrition · 2024Article
- Menu Labeling and Calories Purchased in Restaurants in a US National Fast Food Chain.JAMA network open · 2023Article
- Menu Calorie Label Use and Diet Quality: a Cross-Sectional Study.American journal of preventive medicine · 2023Article
- The impact of the federal menu labeling law on the sentiment of Twitter discussions about restaurants and food retailers: An interrupted time series analysis.Preventive medicine reports · 2023Article
- Adopting an Extended Theory of Planned Behaviour to Examine Buying Intention and Behaviour of Nutrition-Labelled Menu for Healthy Food Choices in Quick Service Restaurants: Does the Culture of Consumers Really Matter?International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Public's calorie literacy and perceived effectiveness of restaurant menu calorie labeling in the United Arab Emirates.PloS one · 2023Article
- Assessment of Calories Purchased After Calorie Labeling of Prepared Foods in a Large Supermarket Chain.JAMA internal medicine · 2022Article
- Article
- Visual Size Matters: The Effect of Product Depiction Size on Calorie Estimates.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Changes in the calorie and nutrient content of purchased fast food meals after calorie menu labeling: A natural experiment.PLoS medicine · 2021Article
- Conceptualising natural and quasi experiments in public health.BMC medical research methodology · 2021Review
- A Natural Experiment to Evaluate the Nutritional Content of Restaurant Meal Purchases After Calorie Labeling.Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · 2020Article
- Federal calorie labelling compliance at US chain restaurants.Obesity science & practice · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe long-term effect of calorie labeling on fast-food purchases is unclear. McDonald's voluntarily labeled its menus with calories in 2012, providing an opportunity to evaluate this initiative on purchases.
methodsFrom 2010 to 2014, we collected receipts from and administered questionnaires to 2971 adults, 2164 adolescents, and 447 parents/guardians of school-age children during repeated visits to 82 restaurants, including McDonald's and five control chains that did not label menus over the study period in four New England cities. In 2018, we analyzed the data by using difference-in-differences analyses to estimate associations of calorie labeling with calories purchased (actual and estimated) and predicted probability of noticing calorie information on menus.
resultsCalorie labeling at McDonald's was not associated with changes in calories purchased in adults (change = - 19 cal pre- vs. post-labeling at McDonald's compared to control chains, 95% CI: - 112, 75), adolescents (change = - 49 cal, 95% CI: - 136, 38), or children (change = 13 cal, 95% CI: - 108, 135). Calorie labeling generally increased the predicted probability of noticing calorie information, but did not improve estimation of calories purchased.
conclusionsCalorie labeling at McDonald's was not associated with changes in calories purchased in adults, adolescents, or children. Although participants were more likely to notice calories on menus post-labeling, there was no improvement in ability to accurately estimate calories purchased.
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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.