The nearly six-year-old mandate requiring calorie counts on chain restaurant menus in the New York City area has done little to reduce the number of calories people eat.
A new study of 7,699 fast-food diners that compares food orders in places with and without calorie counts, is believed to be the first long-term analysis of the effects of menu labeling in the United States.
Researchers say it also offers early evidence of its possible impact as the federal government prepares to introduce the policy nationwide in December 2016 as part of its Affordable Care Act.
The study, published in the journal Health Affairs, shows the average number of calories bought by patrons at each sitting between January 2013 and June 2014 was statistically the same as those in a similar survey of 1,068 fast-food diners in 2008, when New York City initially imposed menu labeling.
