TABLE 2—
Characteristics of Studies That Assessed the Impact of Menu Calorie Labeling on Energy Ordered in Nonrestaurant Settings in a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Studies Through October 2013
| Study (Year) | Design | Intervention | Setting | Population | Duration | Assessment | Outcome | Results |
| Dowray et al. (2013)54 | Individual randomized controlled trial | Individuals randomized to order from hypothetical fast-food menus with no labeling, calorie labeling, and labeling plus physical activity anchors | Internet | 802 adults | Single Exposure | Internet order | kcal ordered per meal | Calorie labeling mean: |
| 927.05 kcal (SD = 681.74) | ||||||||
| Control mean: | ||||||||
| 1020.15 kcal (SD = 579.45) | ||||||||
| Harnack et al. (2008)16 | Individual randomized controlled trial | Individuals randomized to order from fast-food menus with calorie labeling and daily anchor, with calorie labeling and anchor without value pricing, with no calorie label and without value pricing, or standard menus including value pricing | Laboratory | 594 adults and adolescents aged ≥ 16 y | Single exposure | In-person order and weighed plate waste | kcal ordered and consumed per meal | Calorie labeling with daily anchor mean: |
| 873.6 kcal (SD = 439.1) | ||||||||
| Calorie labeling with daily anchor plus price mean: | ||||||||
| 842.3 kcal (SD = 425.3) | ||||||||
| Price mean: | ||||||||
| 881.7 kcal (SD = 353.6) | ||||||||
| Control mean: 827.5 kcal | ||||||||
| (SD = 400.6) | ||||||||
| Liu et al. (2012)55 | Individual randomized controlled trial | Individuals randomized to order from hypothetical sit-down restaurant menu with no labeling, calorie labeling with a daily anchor, rank-ordered calories with a daily anchor, rank-ordered color coded calories with daily anchor | Internet | 419 adults | Single exposure | Internet order | kcal ordered per meal | Calorie labeling with daily anchor mean: 1675.52 kcal (SD = 1367.13) |
| Control mean: 1759.61 kcal (SD = 1965.71) | ||||||||
| Morley et al. (2013)23 | Individual randomized controlled trial | Individuals randomized to order from hypothetical menus with no labels, kj labels with a daily anchor, kj and % daily intake labels, kj and traffic light, or kj and traffic light and % daily intake | Internet | 1294 adults | Single exposure | Internet order | kcal ordered per meal (converted from kj, 4.2 kj = 1 kcal) | Calorie labeling with daily anchor mean: |
| 985.02 kcal (SD = 391.17) | ||||||||
| Control mean: | ||||||||
| 1101.63 kcal (SD = 432.52) | ||||||||
| Roberto et al. (2010)17 | Individual randomized controlled trial | Individuals randomized to order from menus with calorie labeling, with calorie labeling and daily anchor, or no labeling | Laboratory | 295 adults | Single exposure | In-person order, weighed plate waste, and food recall for period after dinner | kcal ordered and consumed per meal and kcal consumed for the rest of the day | kcal ordered |
| Calorie labeling: mean: 1862.23 kcal (95% CI = 1655, 2069) | ||||||||
| Calorie labeling with daily anchor mean: 1859.7 (95% CI = 1661, 2058) | ||||||||
| Control mean: | ||||||||
| 2189.37 (95% CI = 1981, 2397) | ||||||||
| Roseman et al. (2013)25 | Individual randomized controlled trial | Individuals randomized to order from hypothetical menus with and without calorie labels | Street corner intercept | 302 adults | Single exposure | In-person order | kcal ordered per meal | Calorie labeling mean: |
| 718 kcal (SD = 187) | ||||||||
| Control mean: | ||||||||
| 719 kcal (SD = 195) | ||||||||
| Wei and Miao (2013)56 | Individual randomized controlled trial | Individuals randomized to order from hypothetical menus with and without calorie labeling from “healthy” and “unhealthy” fast-food categories | Internet | 178 adults | Single exposure | Internet order | kcal ordered per meal | Calorie labeling mean: 643.44 kcal (SD = 264.6) Control mean: 663.65 kcal (SD = 279.53) |
| Gerend (2009)57 | Individual randomized controlled trial | Individuals randomized to order from hypothetical fast-food menus with and without calorie labeling | Laboratory | 288 college students | Single exposure | In-person order | kcal ordered per meal | Women: Calorie labeling mean: 788 kcal (SD = 274) Control mean: 934 kcal (SD = 371) Men: Calorie labeling mean: 1144 kcal (SD = 362) Control mean: 1052 kcal (SD = 313) |
| Tandon et al. (2010)58 | Individual randomized controlled trial | Individuals randomized to order for themselves and their child from a hypothetical fast-food menu with and without calorie labeling | Health care waiting room | 99 parents with children aged 3–6 y visiting a pediatric clinic | Single exposure | In-person order | kcal ordered per meal | Children: |
| Calorie labeling mean: 569.1 kcal (SD = 208.1) | ||||||||
| Control mean: 671.5 kcal (SD = 263.5) | ||||||||
| Adults: | ||||||||
| Calorie labeling mean: 765.9 kcal (SD = 385.9) | ||||||||
| Control mean: 759.3 kcal (SD = 523.5) | ||||||||
| Wisdom et al. (2010)27 | Individual randomized controlled trial | Individuals intercepted before fast-food entry and randomized to order from a menu with calorie labeling, calorie labeling and daily anchor, or no label and with and without menu order modifications | Street corner intercept | 632 adults | Single exposure | In-person order | kcal ordered per meal | Model with adjustment for daily anchor, healthy feature menu manipulation, gender, age, race/ethnicity, study: |
| Labeling: b = −60.69 (SE = 18.95) | ||||||||
| Daily anchor: b = −37.81 (SE = 18.83) | ||||||||
| Combined effect: b = −98.5 (SE = 37.78) |
Notes. CI = confidence interval.