Nutrition: Menu Graphics Help Diners Eat Less

New findings published in the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing reveal that graphics may be helpful in encouraging people at diners to eat less.

In an effort to get consumers to lower their caloric intake, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration mandated that most chain restaurants state the number of calories that menus contain. However, in a new study, researchers also found that images of green, yellow or red traffic lights can work just as effectively.

"We find that either numbers or traffic lights have the same beneficial effect when it comes to taking in fewer calories," write the study authors. "In our particular study, either method resulted in food choices that contained 10 percent fewer calories."

During this recent study, the researchers conducted a field experiment in which employees at Humana, a larger health-care company, were asked to place lunch orders though an online platform designed especially for the study; meanwhile, a control group was given no calorie information. In an experimental group, they were given either a traffic light that indicated the approximate number of calories, just the number of calories by themselves or both.

Findings revealed that providing calorie information through numbers or icons, including traffic, encourages diners to eat less.

Although providing calorie information in the form of numbers may seem like the best option, policymakers should consider that not all consumers are adept at interpreting numbers.

"For those consumers, traffic light labels can communicate basic 'eat this, not that' information regardless of their understanding of the underlying nutrients or ability to use numeric information," the authors conclude.

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