It is not clear if menu labeling encourages lower-calorie purchases that lead to healthier food choices, researchers concluded after conducting a systematic review of 53 studies. The trials involved 18 restaurants, 9 cafeterias, and 21 laboratory or simulation settings. 5 looked at restaurant food offerings. Among the results:

• 8 of the 9 cafeteria studies reported fewer calories were purchased after labeling.
• 2 quasi-real-world randomized controlled field experiments of menu labeling demonstrated that it led to a statistically significant and fairly large reduction in calories ordered.
• The best-designed natural experiment with a large sample size reported a 15-calorie reduction in response to calorie labeling among Starbucks customers.

The authors added that reducing consumer purchases in chain restaurants by even a small amount may help.