Eating Well While Dining Out: Collaborating with Local Restaurants to Promote Heart Healthy Menu Items

As Americans commonly consume restaurant foods with poor dietary quality, effective interventions are needed to improve food choices at restaurants.

To design and evaluate a restaurant-based intervention to help customers select and restaurants promote heart healthy menu items with healthful fats and high quality carbohydrates.

The intervention included table tents outlining 10 heart healthy eating tips, coupons promoting healthy menu items, an information brochure, and link to study website. Pre and post intervention surveys were completed by restaurant managers and customers completed a brief "intercept" survey.

Managers (n = 10) reported the table tents and coupons were well received, and several noted improved personal nutrition knowledge. Overall, 4214 coupons were distributed with 1244 (30%) redeemed. Of 300 customers surveyed, 126 (42%) noticed the table tents and of these, 115 (91%) considered the nutrition information helpful, 42 (33%) indicated the information influenced menu items purchased, and 91 (72%) reported the information will influence what they order in the future.

The intervention was well-received by restaurant managers and positively influenced menu item selection by many customers.

Further research is needed to assess effective strategies for scaling up and sustaining this intervention approach.