Calorie Labels on Menus May Harm People With Eating Disorders, New Study Shows

New research suggests that the mandatory calorie labels on restaurant menus might be worsening symptoms for individuals with eating disorders, prompting calls for reconsideration of obesity prevention strategies.

Calorie labels on restaurant menus, while aimed at combating rising obesity rates, may have a detrimental impact on individuals struggling with eating disorders, according to a new study published in the BMJ Public Health. The comprehensive review, led by researchers from King’s College London, highlights how these labels could inadvertently reinforce harmful behaviors and thoughts among sufferers.

The study is the first to systematically evaluate the impact of nutritional labels on those with a history of eating disorders, synthesizing findings from 16 different studies across the UK, United States, Canada and Saudi Arabia. Altogether, these studies included data from 8,074 participants.

Key findings of the review indicated that individuals with eating disorders often altered their behaviors when exposed to menus featuring calorie information. This included avoiding dining out, heightened anxiety related to food choices and an increased focus on calorie counts revealed through eye-tracking studies.

“Our study highlights that people with lived experience of eating disorders are frustrated at being left out of the conversation around calorie labels,” senior author Tom Jewell, a lecturer in mental health nursing at King’s College London, said in a news release.

The implementation of calorie labeling laws, which took effect in England in 2022 and are already in place in the United States and Canada, aimed to mitigate rising obesity levels. However, the study emphasizes that such policies often overlook the detrimental effects these labels can have on individuals with eating disorders.

The eating disorder charity Beat estimates that at least 1.25 million people in the UK live with an eating disorder. Hospital admissions for these conditions have been climbing by about 7% each year since 2005-2006.

Despite these growing numbers, current public health policies emphasize physical health, often measured by weight alone, at the expense of mental health considerations.

“Striking a balance between the positive and harmful impacts of calorie labels on menus is vital in any public health policies,” added Jewell. “Policymakers should consider the impact on both obesity and eating disorders when making decisions about nutrition labeling.”

Co-author Nora Trompeter, a research fellow at University College London, added, “Our study provides an important addition to the evidence base around calorie labels. Typically, there is a lot of focus on whether policies are effective in reducing obesity, but it is also critical to investigate whether these policies inadvertently harm people with eating disorders.”

The authors called for more comprehensive research to fully understand the impact of such policies, particularly on vulnerable populations like young people, who were not included in the reviewed studies.