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Calorie and nutrient trends in large U.S. chain restaurants, 2012-2018
Sara N Bleich1, Mark J Soto1, Caroline Glagola Dunn1
1Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States of America.
Plos One
|February 11, 2020
Summary
Newly introduced menu items in large chain restaurants saw significant calorie reductions through 2018. While calories decreased, macronutrient changes were inconsistent, not clearly improving overall dietary quality.
Area of Science:
- Nutrition Science
- Public Health Nutrition
- Food Service Research
Background:
- Large chain restaurants have faced scrutiny regarding the nutritional content of their menu offerings.
- Previous data indicated calorie reductions in new menu items between 2012 and 2015.
Purpose of the Study:
- To update calorie trends for menu items in large chain restaurants through 2018.
- To analyze macronutrient composition changes in menu items over time.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the MenuStat project, encompassing 66 of the 100 largest U.S. chain restaurants (N = 28,238 items) from 2012-2018.
- Employed generalized linear models to assess per-item changes in calories and macronutrients for both common and newly introduced menu items.
Main Results:
- No significant changes in calories or nutrients were observed for menu items consistently available from 2012-2018.
- Newly introduced menu items exhibited significant declines: calories (-25%), saturated fat (-41%), unsaturated fat (-37%), non-sugar carbohydrates (-40%), and protein (-25%).
Conclusions:
- Newly introduced menu items in large chain restaurants have continued to decrease in calories, potentially aiding public health efforts to reduce calorie consumption.
- Observed macronutrient shifts in new items were sporadic and did not consistently indicate improved dietary quality.
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