Association Between Menus' Calorie Labels and Students' Food Choices: A Cross-Sectional Study

A policy that mandates posting calorie information on monitors and printed menus in restaurants was implemented in Saudi Arabia in 2018. This may help consumers make healthier decisions. This study assessed the level of awareness regarding calorie labeling on menus and its association with restaurant food choices among Saudi university students. A cross-sectional study was conducted using 400 female Saudi students at Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University (PNU), Riyadh. Pregnant or lactating students or those who had any dietary restrictions were excluded. An online self-administered questionnaire regarding demographic characteristics, awareness of calorie labeling, and restaurant food choices were used. Pearson's and Ma Nemar's chi-square tests, the odds ratio, and multivariate binary logistic regression were used in the analysis. While 73.5% of the students noticed the calorie labeling on the restaurant's menus, only 24% of students read it carefully. No statistically significant association was observed between the awareness of calorie labeling and food selection. Comparing good versus poor awareness about labels, 67.7% versus 49% of participants change their food selections based on the calorie information on the menus (p<0.0007), and 77.8% versus 22.2% select items with fewer calories (p<0.001). Calorie labeling may be an effective method for improving food choices among those who have an awareness of such and use calorie information. Nevertheless, public health education campaigns are needed to increase awareness of calorie requirements and the value of calorie labelingon restaurant menus.