Researchers Try To Clarify Calorie Labeling Confusion

Researchers are serving up more explanations as to why two recent reports on the effectiveness of the city’s ground-breaking calorie labeling law appear to contradict one another. The researchers told the Times that differences in focus and size might clarify the discrepancies.

The first study, published in the journal Health Affairs
last month, reviewed the effect of calorie labeling only in low-income, minority neighborhoods, while the larger health department study looked at the effect citywide.

“We looked at a population that’s much more price sensitive, so calorie information could have taken a backseat to pricing in our group,” said the author of the earlier study. An assistant commissioner in the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene added, “Dietary changes come slowly. We were not expecting to see miracles.”