Using kilojoule and traffic light labeling on fast food menus could help consumers make healthier choices, according to new study.
The research was conducted by the Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer at Cancer Council Victoria and the Obesity Policy Coalition.
For the research, a web-based methodology was used to expose adults to one of the five randomly selected menu boards, from which respondents made their evening meal selection. The options included no nutrition labeling, kilojoule labeling, kilojoule and percent daily intake, kilojoule labeling and traffic lights and all three labeling types.
1,294 Victorian adults aged 18 to 49 years who had purchased food from a fast food restaurant chain have participated in the study.
The study found that there was a significant change in the meals selected by the respondents depending on the menu option they viewed.
Researchers also found that traffic light labels, which give an overall nutrition rating for each menu item of a green, amber or red light, were most commonly used by respondents in making their selections.
About 36% of respondents presented with traffic light labels used this information when making their meal selection, 25% used kilojoule information when it was provided, while 20% used the available daily intake information in making their purchase decision.
OPC executive manager Jane Martin said the most effective options in terms of encouraging people to select the less energy-dense meals were kilojoules and kilojoules combined with traffic light labeling.
"We found that giving consumers both of these pieces of information resulted in them choosing meals that were on average about 500 kilojoules less than the respondents who had no labelling information."
"Traffic light labels are well understood by consumers and easy to understand at a glance. For this reason, we encourage the Victorian Government to include traffic light labels with kilojoule labelling to help support people to make healthier choices," Martin added.
A group of health agencies, partners in the OPC, has urged the Victorian government to proceed with legislation to mandate kilojoule and traffic light labeling on fast food menus.
