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Menu Calorie Counts Affect Choices

Calorie disclosures on menus are affecting New York City restaurant-goers’ choices and which restaurants they choose to visit, a new study shows.

NEW YORK — Calorie disclosures on menus are affecting New York City restaurant-goers’ choices and which restaurants they choose to visit, a new study shows.

Technomic, a Chicago-based market research firm, has found that 86% of New York City restaurant-goers were surprised by the calorie count information listed on menus or menu boards, with 90% claiming the calorie count for items was higher than they expected. As a result, 82% said calorie disclosure is affecting what they order, and 60% said it affects which restaurants they visit.

Early last year, the New York City Board of Health mandated that all restaurants with 15 or more units within the city’s five boroughs clearly disclose on their menus or on a menu board the calorie count for each item on their menus.

Meanwhile, as expected, other cities and states are following suit. This week, a draft bill that would apply statewide and is modeled on the NYC mandate is being discussed in the West Virginia legislature.

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