Big Way Of Life

Making nutritional information available on restaurant menus may lead to lower-calorie meal choices for children, a study suggests.

Academics and doctors from America conducted a randomised, controlled experiment in which children aged 3 to 6 and their parents were studied whilst ordering food.

Parents were ineligible if they never ate fast food, if they were not English speaking, if their child was too sick, or if they had already participated.

They were split into groups and given a McDonalds fast food menu. The parents were then asked to choose food for themselves and their children.

All menus were identical, except half contained nutritional information about the food served, such as calorie intake.

It was found that those parents ordering from the menu with additional nutritional information ordered, on average, 102 calories less than those with normal menus.

However, it was found that there was no difference in calories in the food the parents chose for themselves.

To read about the study in a little more depth, click here.

So what do you think? Would having nutritional information on menus make you choose healthier food for your children? Drop us a line or visit the forum to share your thoughts.