Nutrition Labelling in Restaurants Could Help Reduce Calorie Intake

Adding calorie information to menus and next to food in restaurants, coffee shops and cafeterias, could reduce calorie intake by around 8% per meal.

Given that the latest figures from government show that two-thirds of us are overweight or obese, this is not an insignificant number.

Continually eating too many calories leads to weight gain and increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes and several cancers, which together are the leading causes of poor health and premature death in the UK.

Until now several published studies looking at whether putting nutritional labels on food and non-alcoholic drinks has an impact on what people buy have had mixed results. The Cochrane review, published today, has collated the information of these studies in a systematic review, recognised as the gold-standard for high-quality trusted information.

Calorie and nutrition labelling in catering outlets will allow customers to make informed choices about the food they eat. It is well recognised by nutritionists and dietitians that people under estimate the number of calories in food and the amount they eat.