By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.com
June 19, 2009
When fast food restaurants begin posting calorie content next to food items, some consumers are likely to be in for a shock. A news study by researchers at the University of Arkansas indicates that many consumers have a poor understanding of the calorie, fat and sodium content of quick-service restaurant meals.
In fact, the less healthful the food, the more consumers seem to underestimate its calorie and fat content.
The researchers — Scot Burton and Elizabeth "Betsy" Howlett, marketing professors in the Sam M. Walton College of Business, and graduate student Andrea Tangari — found that as the calorie content of a meal increased, so did the extent to which calorie, fat and sodium levels were underestimated.
In other words, although most consumers expected a large cheeseburger and fries to be high in calories, few realized just how unhealthy that meal was.For example, sodium levels from these purchased meals provided more than 75 percent of the daily-recommended level of 2300 milligrams, and consumers underestimated the amount of sodium in their meals by roughly 1,000 milligrams.
Results also showed that when nutrition information was worse than expected, consumers product evaluations were much more negative.
"Our findings provide potential insight into why frequent restaurant diners may have difficulty maintaining or losing weight," said Howlett. "On average, frequent diners unknowingly consumed 900 extra calories a week from restaurant meals. This degree of underestimation appears capable of causing significant weight gain over the long term."
Within the context of the national obesity problem and possible legislation mandating disclosure of calorie and nutrient information on menus, the researchers conducted three studies to determine how accurately consumers estimate calorie, fat and sodium content of quick-service restaurant meals. Of particular interest was how objective nutrition information interacted with prior expectations to influence product evaluations, purchase intentions and perceptions of diet-related disease risks.
"Our results suggest that when obligated to disclose nutrition information, quick-service restaurants with signature items that are substantially higher in calories than consumers' expect may find their firms in a relatively less favorable position," Burton said. "These restaurants may wish to improve their portfolio of healthy items by either introducing new products or improving the nutrition profile of foods on their current menu by switching to lower calorie ingredients."
An example of this strategy has been demonstrated recently by KFC, which recently introduced a grilled (unfried) chicken meal that is healthier than a fried-chicken meal.
Fast food patrons are likely to get calorie information in the near future. Consumer advocates and the restaurant industry are backing a compromise menu labeling bill that is currently making its way through Congress, and is considered likely to pass.
