According to a study published in the International Journal of Obesity, labeling things all you want may not make a difference. It seems calorie labeling in fast-food restaurants has no effect on the food purchases of parents or teens in low-income neighborhoods. It did increase their awareness of the calories they were eating but did not influence the food choices they made. It's a good thing that a national calorie-posting mandate was part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. They may have wanted to test that and see if this policy worked before they instituted it. Don't get me wrong, I am all for people being aware of what they eat so maybe, in the long run, they can make better choices. Intuitively, this seems like it would work but, alas, maybe not. I guess that is why we study things first, huh?
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