Influence of Calorie Labeling on Food Choice

肥胖是美国最紧迫的公共健康问题之一。通过对心血管疾病、糖尿病和癌症的负面影响，肥胖是导致过早发病和死亡以及经济成本的重要因素。尽管这个问题很严重，但公共卫生系统几乎完全缺乏鼓励持续减肥或停止体重增加的人口层面的解决方案。最近肥胖人数上升的一个重要原因是高热量食物越来越多地在户外食用，尤其是快餐。因此，最近提出的一项人口层面的解决方案是制定一项政策，规定快餐店所有菜单上的食物都必须贴上卡路里标签。然而，这些政策目前正在全国范围内实施，几乎没有证据表明它们在改变食物选择方面的潜在有效性。这个项目建议研究卡路里标签，因为它在两个城市中发挥作用，为其在对抗肥胖方面的有效性提供证据。在一些城市而不是其他城市引入卡路里标签为我们提供了一个研究自然实验的独特机会。我们将采用差异中的差异设计来研究卡路里标签，因为它是在两个城市引入的，而不是在两个单独的对照城市引入的。我们将通过两种不同的方式在每个城市引入标签前后（干预和控制）收集数据。为了客观地测量食物选择的热量含量，满足我们的主要目的，我们在干预和控制城市中随机抽取快餐店的收据。我们的第二个目标是，为了更深入地了解标签的有效性，以及标签为什么有效或不有效，我们将在收取收据的同时进行电话调查。我们将把我们的考试集中在消费者的决策，利用行为经济学的概念。尽管全国各地都在考虑和实施卡路里标签，但我们对其潜在的有效性知之甚少。这个项目有可能为这项政策是否确实有效地对抗肥胖流行病提供重要的见解。此外，它还将揭示政策有效与否的原因。长期目标是在这些知识的基础上制定有效的公共政策来对抗肥胖。

Obesity is one of the most pressing public health problems in the United States. Through its negative influence on cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer, obesity is a significant contributor to premature morbidity and mortality, as well as economic costs. Despite the magnitude of the problem, the public health system is faced with an almost complete dearth of population-level solutions to encourage sustained weight loss or halt weight gain. A large contributor to recent rises in obesity is that highly caloric foods are increasingly eaten outside the home, particularly fast foods. As such, one recently proposed population-level solution is a policy dictating mandatory calorie labeling of all menu items in fast-food restaurants. However, these policies are currently playing out across the country with little to no evidence as to their potential effectives in altering food choice. This project proposes to study calorie labeling as it plays out in two cities to provide evidence as to its effectiveness in combating obesity. The introduction of calorie labeling in some cities and not others provides us with a unique opportunity to study a natural experiment. We will utilize a difference-in-difference design to study calorie labeling as it is introduced in two cities but not in two, separate control cities. We will collect data before and after labeling is introduced in each city (intervention and control) via two separate means. To objectively measure the caloric content of food choice and satisfy our primary aim, we collect receipts from randomly sampled fast food restaurants in the intervention and control city. For our secondary aim, to provide greater insight as to the effectiveness of labeling as well as why labeling is effective or not, we will conduct a telephone survey at the same time the receipt collection occurs. We will focus our examination on the decision making of the consumer, utilizing the concepts of behavioral economics. Even though calorie labeling is being considered and implemented across the country, we have little to no knowledge as to its potential effectiveness. This project has the potential to provide significant insight as to whether this policy is indeed effective in combating the obesity epidemic. Moreover, it will shed light on why the policy is effective or not. The long term goal is to build on this knowledge to develop effective public polices to combat obesity.