Analysis Suggests Menu Labeling Could Help Average California Adult Avoid Over 2...

Analysis Suggests Menu Labeling Could Help Average California Adult Avoid Over 2 Pounds of Weight Gain a Year

DAVIS, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
Look up at a fast-food menu board and shed a pound? It may sound
too good to be true, but according to a paper released today by the
University of California's Center for Weight and Health, new research
shows that California adults could avoid gaining 2.7 pounds a year if
calories were posted on fast-food menu boards statewide.

The analysis combines findings from two key sources to understand
how calories posted on fast-food menu boards could shape the health of
California. A 2008 New York City study found that patrons of fast-food
restaurants where calorie counts were shown consumed 52 fewer calories
per visit. And a 2007 consumer survey shows that California adults who
eat at fast-food chains do so an average of 3.4 times per week. Based
on conservative math, the UC Berkeley Center for Weight and Health
calculates that menu labeling of calories in California could reduce
caloric intake by over 9,000 calories per person annually.

"Menu board labeling has the potential to dramatically alter the
trajectory of the obesity epidemic in California," UC Berkeley states
in its report, Potential Impact on Menu Labeling of Fast Foods in
California. The analysis suggests that by posting calories on
fast-food menu boards California could shift from a net gain in weight
each year to a net loss.

Given that more than 60 percent of California adults are either
overweight or obese, the implications of this analysis could be
enormous. Statewide, the Center for Weight and Health projects that by
making calorie information visible at the point of purchase, the state
could drop a whopping 40 million pounds a year.

"Weight gain is a simple mathematical formula," insists Dr. Harold
Goldstein of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, a
cooperator on the report. "If you can skim 50 calories off your diet
each time you eat out, you are going to reduce your weight gain and
might even lose weight. This analysis suggests that a painless way to
make that happen is to put calorie information on menu boards for
everyone to see. It will be of great benefit to the 82 percent of
California adults who regularly eat at fast-food chains."

In just two decades, Americans have fallen in love with eating
out, consuming nearly half their calories away from home. Fast-food
outlets, according to the analysis, are the largest single source of
those meals. Unfortunately, knowledge of the nutrition content of fast
food is hard to come by. "Even nutrition professionals underestimate
the calories contained in meals typically available at fast-food
restaurants by 200 to 600 calories," the analysis states.

The Center for Weight and Health conducts independent research on
the prevention of obesity and related conditions, while developing
science-based solutions to weight-related health problems for children
and families. Their analysis was conducted in cooperation with the
California Center for Public Health Advocacy, an independent,
nonpartisan, nonprofit organization leading efforts in California to
understand and address the state's growing obesity crisis. The full
paper is available online at http://www.publichealthadvocacy.org

For California Center for Public Health Advocacy
Dr. Harold Goldstein, 530-297-6000
Nicole Stivers, 800-710-9333

Copyright Business Wire 2008