Calorie counts on fast-food menus do not help consumers make healthy choices, according to researchers from New York University.
Only a small fraction of fast-food eaters – as little as eight percent – are likely to make healthy choices as a result of calorie labelling, the study found.
The New York study – were calorie information in fast-food restaurants is obligatory – called for information to be displayed more prominently which it said would encourage operators to create lower calories options.
Calorie labelling on fast-food restaurant menus was first introduced in New York in 2006 to motivate consumers to change their behaviour by providing them with health information and later expanded to other areas of the US.
There is no law in the UK, though some high street operators and pub companies have begun to volunteer nutritional information following increased awareness of healthy eating.
The Local Government Association has made repeated calls for calorie counts to be displayed across chain pubs, restaurants and cinemas to tackle obesity.
The New York study found despite the widespread requirement calorie counts at restaurants, there was little evidence that fast-food consumers were changing their behaviours as a result.
In order for the measures to be effective, it said consumers had to be aware of the labelling, be motivated to eat healthily and know the daily calories to maintain a healthy weight.
Only a small minority of fast-food consumers met all these conditions, with researchers saying calorie information was not visible enough to consumers.
The researchers acknowledged calorie labelling could encourage restaurants to reduce the calorie content of menu items and provide lower calorie options.
Professor Beth Weitzman, of the authors, said: “We know that few regular fast-food eaters chose fast food because it is nutritious; they instead are motivated by cost and convenience.
“However, requiring restaurants to make the calorie content of their menu items highly visible could cause restaurants to add new, healthy options to their menus.”
