Study: Caloric info not changing behaviors

NEW YORK, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Mandatory calorie labeling in fast-food restaurants has had no effect on the number of calories being consumed by U.S. children and adolescents, a study says.

Researchers at New York University tracked the food choices of 349 children and adolescents ages 1 to 17 at four fast-food restaurants in New York and Newark, N.J., before and after the mandatory labeling was introduced, a release from the International Journal of Obesity reported Tuesday.

Out of concern of a national "obesity epidemic," the U.S. Congress recently introduced a law requiring fast-food chains with 20 or more locations to display the number of calories in each of their menu items.

While many parents and adolescents noticed the calorie information posted in restaurants, the study found, the policy had little influence on purchasing behavior or on the number of calories consumed.

Rather, the greatest influence on where and what consumers chose to eat continued to be the convenience of the location and the food's taste, the researchers said.

The study authors acknowledge the survey sample size was relatively small and urged further surveys when menu labeling is implemented nationwide.