S1205 Nutritional Calorie Labeling and Menu Ordering Practices Among U.S. Adults With Chronic Illnesses

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The relationship between diet and the management of chronic illnesses is well established. However, it is unknown the extent to which people with chronic illnesses pay attention to nutritional information and act upon the information obtained. Aim: To evaluate the menu ordering practices of adults with chronic illnesses. METHODS: We analyzed the 2018 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 5 Cycle 2). Our analytic cohort included 3,118 respondents (weighted population size = 227,008,103). Respondents answered questions regarding a personal history of these chronic illnesses: (1) Diabetes, (2) Hypertension, (3) Heart disease (including heart attack, angina or congestive heart failure) and (4) Obesity. They also answered questions about their nutritional habits regarding whether they noticed caloric information at fast-food or sit-down restaurants and how that information influenced their dietary choices. We used logistic regression analyses to examine the association between chronic illnesses and the likelihood to notice caloric information and modify their dietary behavior by ordering less calories. We used survey weights in all analyses. We calculated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: The mean age of the cohort was 48.6 years, 51.2% female, 65.2% White, 10.7% Black, 15.9% Hispanic, 15.8% current smokers, 28.3% with a yearly household income less than $35,000 and 30.4% had a high school education or less. Among respondents with chronic illnesses, only obese patients were more likely to pay attention to caloric information. Among the respondents with chronic illnesses who noticed caloric information, none of them ordered fewer calories when compared to those without the specific chronic illness (Table 1). CONCLUSION: US adults with chronic illnesses do not pay sufficient attention to calorie information of their diet. Furthermore, awareness of the calorie information did not influence their dietary choices. Healthcare professionals should incorporate dietary counseling into the management of chronic illnesses of their patients.Table 1.: Multivariate adjusted for age, sex, smoking, income, race, and education