New research from University of Birmingham and Aston University has found that putting lower-calorie meal choices at the top of a restaurant menu, and reducing the availability of high-calorie options, makes teenagers more likely to order the healthier options.
The researchers asked 432 adolescents to take part in an online experiment. They presented the teenagers with four different menus, with five starters, ten main courses and five desserts in separate sections, as one would find on a standard restaurant menu.
Each menu was slightly different. One reduced the number of high-calorie options offered (“availability”), another menu “positioned” menu items low to high calorie, another combined the availability and positioned menus, and one was a 'typical' menu.
The participants were asked to select a starter, main and dessert from each menu.
The experiment showed that the availability and the position interventions resulted in significantly lower calorie meal choices, compared to the choices made from the menu with no intervention (the 'typical' menu).
The average number of calories for a selected meal reduced from 2,100 to 1,992 when the items were ordered from least to highest calorie content.
The availability intervention reduced it from 2134 to 1956 calories.
The group who had the combined availability and positioning menu saw their meal calorie value plummet from 2,173 to 1,884 calories.
The study also found that the “positioning” intervention had the biggest impact on main course choices.
The availability intervention and the combined interventions, on the other hand, did not have a big impact on the calorie value of main course choices.
The availability intervention had the most impact on starter choices.
None of the intervention had a significant impact on dessert choices.
The researchers concluded that main menu choices saw the biggest reduction in calories following the position intervention, while the availability intervention saw the biggest reduction in the starter option.
People tend to consume higher calorie meals when they eat out, so restaurants provide an important location for implementing low-cost and high-reach interventions which can encourage healthier eating in teenagers.
Many restaurants are already required to display calorie information on their menus, but this new research has shown that tactics like altering the position or availability of high-calorie options on menus could also be a useful tool in trying to reduce obesity and help young people make healthier choices.
The researchers said that the next step for this research would be to replicate the study in restaurant settings.
Source: Appetite, January 1, 2025.
All research on this web site is the property of Leslie Beck Nutrition Consulting Inc. and is protected by copyright. Keep in mind that research on these matters continues daily and is subject to change. The information presented is not intended as a substitute for medical treatment. It is intended to provide ongoing support of your healthy lifestyle practices.