Effects of Nutritional Information on Food Choices on a College

Campus

RACHEL HUDES
KRISTEN DOMENICK
RACHEL YIK HAN
CHAN
Senior Project Spring
Term
Department of
Nutrition
May 25, 2010

Background & Significance

About 37% of college students are overweight or obese (Hajhosseini

L & et al.)

The Freshmen 15

Often used to describe 15 lbs. that freshmen put on during their first
year of college (Graham MA & Jones AL)

http://www.nutritioncancer.com/
Hajhosseini L, Holmes T, Mohamadi P, Goudarzi V, McProud L, Hollenbeck C. Changes in body weight, body composition and resting metabolic rate (RMR) in first-year university freshmen students. JAm
CollNutr.2006; 25:123-127.
Graham MA, Jones AL. Freshman 15: valid theory or harmful myth.J Am Coll Health2002;50(4):171-173.

Background & Significance

Studies have identified causes of college weight gain which

include

easy access to junk and fast foods (Economocs C & Hilderbrandt M)

all you can eat dining plans (Levitsky DA & et al.)
decreased fruits and vegetable intake (Economocs C & Hilderbrandt
M)

http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/4665172/freshmen-15-main_Full.jp g

Economos C, Hildebrandt ML, Hyatt R. College freshman stress and weight change: differences by gender. Am J Health Behav2008;32(1):16-25.
Levitsky DA, Halbmaier CA, Mrdjenovic G. The freshman weight gain: a model for the study of the epidemic of obesity. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord2004;28(11):1435-1442.

Background & Significance

Menu labeling in fast food restaurants can help decrease obesity

prevalence known association between fast foods and weight

gain (Bassett M & et al.)
73% of people in New York reported their food choices were

affected due to the caloric displays on the menus (Mello M)

http://www.commissionercogen.com/
Bassett, M, Dumanovsky T, Huang C, et al. Purchasing behavior and calorie information at fast-food chains in new york city, 2007. Am J Pub Health 2008; 98(8):1457-1459.
Mello M. New york city's war on fat. NEJM 2009;360(19):2015-20.

Background & Significance

Menu labeling could prevent college student weight gain

meals away from home may

contribute to increased caloric intake (Dumanovsky T & et al.)

1/3 of Americans consume

http://food.theatlantic.com/

Dumanovsky T, Nonas C, Huang C, et al. What People Buy From Fast-food Restaurants: Caloric Content and Menu Item Selection, New York City 2007. Obesity 2009;17(7):13691374.

Background & Significance

Philadelphia menu labeling laws were put into effect starting on

January 1st, 2010

Chain restaurants with more than 15 outlets in Philadelphia were

required to display nutrition information (Center for Science in

the Public Interest)

http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com

Center for Science in the Public Interest. Philadelphia Passes Strongest Nutrition Labeling Requirements for Chain Restaurant Menus. <http://www.cspinet.org/new/200811061.html>

Hypothesis

Hypothesis 1: Unhealthy and high-energy food

items will be purchased less when nutritional
information is presented.

Hypothesis

Hypothesis 2: Low calorie items will be

purchased more when nutritional information is

presented.

http://www.ultimatecoupons.com

Hypothesis
Hypothesis 3: Anonymous survey will show

that presence of caloric information will affect

customer decisions at the point of purchase.

http://www.fattyweightloss.com/

Specific Aims

To compare the amount of food items sold without

nutritional information versus when nutritional
information is present.

To anonymously survey random customers after calorie

content was presented on menu boards.

Materials and Methods

Research

Sites:
Taco Bell Express, Drexel University
Starbucks Coffee Company, Drexel University

Materials & Methods

Sales data from 2
random days before
and 2 days after the
calorie content was
posted on menu
boards was analyzed
for 21 items.

http://calorielab.com/

Product Criteria
Products Criteria:

Popularity of products

Simplifying data

Range of caloric density

low calorie, neutral,

high calorie

Determining Caloric Range

Determining

Range in Product Caloric Density:

Evaluating caloric range of items offered at both

establishments.
Considering how many calories generally make up a healthy
meal vs. a healthy snack.
Different ranges established for Taco Bell, Starbucks drinks,
and Starbucks food items.

http://dist20.casen.govoffice.com

Product Criteria
Total Products: 21
Taco Bell: 9 Products
www.tacobell.com

Starbucks: 12 Products

6 Drink Items
6 Food Item

www.starbucks.com

Selected Items

Legend

Taco Bell Starbucks

Starbucks
Items
Drink Items Food Items

High Calorie

> 600

>350

>350

Neutral

300-600

250-350

250-350

Low Calorie

< 300

< 250

< 250

Selected Items
Establishment

Item

Taco Bell

Chicken Ranch Taco Salad

Nachos Bell Grande
Grilled Stuffed Burrito - Beef
Crunch Wrap Supreme
Chicken Quesadilla
Bean Burrito
Ranchero Chicken Soft Taco
Soft Taco - Beef
Crunchy Taco

Calorie
Content
910
770
700
540
520
370
270
210
110

Selected Items
Establishment

Item

Starbucks
(Drinks) Size:
Grande; 2%
milk; whip

White Chocolate
Mocha

Calorie
Content

470
Hot Chocolate
370
Caf Mocha
Vanilla Latte
Tazo Chai Tea
Latte
Caf latte

330
250
240
190

Selected Items
Establishment

Item

Starbucks (Food)

Double Iced
Cinnamon Roll

Calorie
Content

490

Coffee Cake
420
Apple Bran Muffin
350
Marble Loaf
330
Marshmallow
Dream Bar
Vanilla Almond
Biscotti

210

110

Data Analysis

Collection of sales and survey results

Comparison of sales before & after implementation

Mean, Standard Deviation

http://media.onsugar.com/

Statistical Analysis

Items were grouped according to high, neutral and low calorie

items.
T-tests were used to determine whether sales were statistically
different.

T tests paired, dependent

PASW computer software

Anonymous Survey

Purpose further explore the affect that nutrition

labeling has on choices made at the locations of study

Anonymous Surveys

5 statement Survey

Response scale ranging from 1-5

1 = Strongly Agree
2 = Agree
3 = Neutral
4 = Disagree
5 = Strongly Disagree

Anonymous Survey
Strongly
Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly
Disagree

1. I noticed the calorie information

posted on the menu boards.

2. The presence of the calorie

information affected my food
choice(s).

3. Having nutritional information

available for food products is
important to me.

4. I try to choose healthy food items

when eating out on Drexels
campus.

5. I will use the nutritional

information every time I purchase
something from this establishment.

Anonymous Survey
400 surveys were distributed

Two hundred surveys were given out to consumers at

both establishments after calorie content was posted.

The average and standard deviation of the responses for

each question were calculated

Results: Survey

Question Starbucks Avg.

Starbucks Std. Dev.

Taco Bell Avg.

Taco Bell Std. Dev.

2.30

1.37

2.45

1.33

2.73

1.28

3.48

1.33

2.00

0.98

2.53

1.16

2.12

0.97

2.64

1.09

2.80

1.09

3.31

1.20

Table 1: Displays the averages and standard deviations of the

Starbucks and Taco Bell survey results. Survey results were mixed
when results were compared between establishments.

Difference in Items Sales Before & After

Starbucks Sales Data

High calorie food items

1.32

Neutral calorie food items

5.00

Low calorie food items

0.33

High calorie drink items

4.50

Neutral calorie drink items

0.58

Low calorie drink items

0.27

Taco Bell Sales Data

P < 0.05

High calorie food items

1.77

Neutral calorie food items

1.24

Low calorie food items

2.58

Table 2: Shows the T test results for Starbucks food and drink items and Taco Bell
food items using PASW software. P <.05 was used to accept or reject the null
hypothesis.

Discussion
Paired dependent t tests were conducted for sales

data from each category of high, neutral and low

calorie food and drink items from Starbucks and
Taco Bell.
The t-tests displayed a p-value for each calorie

category from both establishments >0.05. This

indicated that differences in sales were not
significant.

Limitations
Limited amount of data to analyze.
Sales data from both establishments were restricted

to 4 days only.

Future Directions
Longer study periods
Accessibility to more sales data

Allow for a better comparison between sales of items before and

after calorie information posting on menu boards.

Expand study to other colleges

Conduct a meta analysis through a nationwide report that

compares the data and results.

Future Directions
Obtaining data from other campus establishments at

Drexel University with menu board labeling.

The use of male vs. female as an independent

variable
Surveys

Conclusion
Fast food restaurants in Philadelphia are required by

law to post calorie information on menu boards

beginning January 2010.
The impact on sales and consumer attitudes of

calorie information posted at Taco Bell and

Starbucks on the Drexel campus were evaluated.

Conclusion

Our study indicated there was no affect of the

posting of calorie information on total sales or on the

sales of high, neutral or low calorie items.
The presence of calorie information on menu boards

did not appear to affect consumer attitudes about the

food items they purchase.