Abstract
Calorie labeling is a recent initiative from the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) aimed to reduce the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) by influencing people to make healthier food choices when they eat out and can also help people with weight disturbances to be more aware of their calorie intake. The present study aimed to investigate the association between the use of calorie labeling on restaurant menus, calorie intake, weight concern, body weight perception, and weight-control behaviors among young women. A quasi-experimental study was conducted among female students at a university restaurant. Participants were assigned to two groups: food menus with (experimental group) and without (control group) calorie labeling. The logistic regression model assessed the predictors of using calorie information separately for the experimental and control groups. Calorie labeling had a significant effect on reducing calorie consumption in the experimental group by 59 calories compared to the control group. The higher weight concern in the control group (OR = 0.410; 95% CI 0.230–0.730; P ≤ 0.002) was a predictor for using calorie information. The experimental group had higher weight concern (OR = 1.530; 95% CI 1.107–2.115; P ≤ 0.01) and body weight perception (OR = 4.230; 95% CI 1.084–6.517; P ≤ 0.038) and lower calorie intake (OR = 1.005; 95% CI 1.001–6.517; P ≤ 0.008) predictors for using calorie information. Weight-control behaviors did not significantly predict the use of calorie information in the groups. Calorie labeling might increase the weight disturbances among young females. More investigation is needed across various populations to gain a better understanding of calorie labeling as an effective food choice among people who are vulnerable to weight disturbances or already have weight disorders.
Highlights
Obesity is an excessive accumulation of fat inside the body’s tissues, which is harmful to a person’s health
We found that listing calories on menus had an obvious effect on reduction of the experimental group’s mean calorie intake by 59 calories, compared to the control group. is might be attributed to the calorie content of the items provided for the participants in the experimental group. is has led to the selection of lower calorie items or the selection of fewer items, consistent with the results of Kresicet al. [20]
To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to investigate the association between weight concerns, body weight perception, weight-control behaviors, and calorie information to limit calorie intake in Saudi Arabia
Summary
Obesity is an excessive accumulation of fat inside the body’s tissues, which is harmful to a person’s health. Many government initiatives have emerged that aim to raise public health awareness among individuals and communities They addressed the quality of food required to help reduce the prevalence of obesity among citizens and maintain healthy lifestyles. Calorie labeling targeted obese and overweight individuals to reduce excessive caloric intake; sometimes, the nontargeted individuals (eating and/or weight disturbances) may be using this caloric information in a negative way [13]. No study in Saudi Arabia has investigated the influence of calorie labeling on individuals with eating and/or weight disturbances To study this gap in the literature, we aimed to employ a quasi-experimental design to investigate the association between the use of calorie labeling on restaurant menus, calorie intake, weight concern, body weight perception, and weight-control behaviors among young females. The current study determines whether more searches in this area are needed
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