Dataset Information

Nutrition-labeling regulation impacts on restaurant environments.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Recent attempts to improve the healthfulness of away-from-home eating include regulations requiring restaurants to post nutrition information. The impact of such regulations on restaurant environments is unknown.

Purpose

To examine changes in restaurant environments from before to after nutrition-labeling regulation in a newly regulated county versus a nonregulated county.

Methods

Using the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey-Restaurant version audit, environments within the same quick-service chain restaurants were evaluated in King County (regulated) before and 6 and 18 months after regulation enforcement and in Multnomah County (nonregulated) restaurants over a 6-month period. Data were collected in 2008-2010 and analyses conducted in 2011.

Results

Overall availability of healthy options and facilitation of healthy eating did not increase differentially in King County versus Multnomah County restaurants aside from the substantial increase in onsite nutrition information posting in King County restaurants required by the new regulation. Barriers to healthful eating decreased in King County relative to Multnomah County restaurants, particularly in food-oriented establishments. King County restaurants demonstrated modest increases in signage that promotes healthy eating, although the frequency of such promotion remained low, and the availability of reduced portions decreased in these restaurants. The healthfulness of children's menus improved modestly over time, but not differentially by county.

Conclusions

A restaurant nutrition-labeling regulation was accompanied by some, but not uniform, improvements in other aspects of restaurant environments in the regulated compared to the nonregulated county. Additional opportunities exist for improving the healthfulness of away-from-home eating beyond menu labeling.

SUBMITTER: Saelens BE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3479434 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Nutrition-labeling regulation impacts on restaurant environments.

Saelens Brian E BE Chan Nadine L NL Krieger James J Nelson Young Y Boles Myde M Colburn Trina A TA Glanz Karen K Ta Myduc L ML Bruemmer Barbara B

American journal of preventive medicine 20121101 5

<h4>Background</h4>Recent attempts to improve the healthfulness of away-from-home eating include regulations requiring restaurants to post nutrition information. The impact of such regulations on restaurant environments is unknown.<h4>Purpose</h4>To examine changes in restaurant environments from before to after nutrition-labeling regulation in a newly regulated county versus a nonregulated county.<h4>Methods</h4>Using the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey-Restaurant version audit, environme ...[more]

PMID: 23079173

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Project description:BackgroundAlthough the mandate of recreational facilities is to enhance well-being, many offer foods inconsistent with recommendations for healthy eating. Little is known regarding recreational facility food environments and how they might be improved, as few studies exist. The Alberta Nutrition Guidelines for Children and Youth (ANGCY) are intended to ensure access to healthy food choices in schools, childcare and recreational facilities. This study investigated awareness, adoption and implementation of the ANGCY among recreational facilities in Alberta, Canada, one year following their release.MethodsA cross-sectional telephone survey was conducted from June - December, 2009 (n = 151) with managers of publicly funded recreational facilities that served food. The questionnaire included 10 closed and 7 open ended questions to assess the organizational priority for healthy eating, awareness, adoption and implementation of the ANGCY. Chi-squared tests examined quantitative variables, while qualitative data were analysed using directed content analysis. Greenhalgh's model of diffusion of complex innovations within health service organizations constituted the theoretical framework for the study.ResultsOne half of respondents had heard of the ANGCY, however their knowledge of them was limited. Although 51% of facilities had made changes to improve the nutritional quality of foods offered in the past year, only a small fraction (11%) of these changes were motivated by the ANGCY. At the time of the survey, 14% of facilities had adopted the ANGCY and 6% had implemented them. Barriers to adoption and implementation were primarily related to perceived negative attributes of the ANGCY, the inner (organizational) context, and negative feedback received during the implementation process. Managers strongly perceived that implementing nutrition guidelines would limit their profit-making ability.ConclusionsIf fully adopted and implemented, the ANGCY have the potential to make a significant and sustained contribution to improving the recreational facility food environment, however one year following their release, awareness, adoption and implementation of the ANGCY remained low. A mandated policy approach could offer an efficacious, cost-effective means of improving the food environment within recreational facilities.

Project description:BackgroundWith the epidemic of childhood obesity, there is national interest in state-level school policies related to nutrition and physical activity, policies adopted by states, and relationships to youth obesity.PurposeThis study develops a comprehensive state-level approach to characterize the overall obesity prevention policy environment for schools and links the policy environments to youth obesity for each state.MethodsUsing 2006 School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS) state data, qualitative and quantitative methods were used (2008-2009) to construct domains of state-level school obesity prevention policies and practices, establish the validity and reliability of the domain scales, and examine their associations with state-level obesity prevalence among youth aged 10-17 years from the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health.ResultsNearly 250 state-level obesity prevention-policy questions were identified from the SHPPS. Three broad policy topic areas containing 100 food service and nutrition (FSN) questionnaire items; 146 physical activity and education (PAE) items; and two weight assessment (WA) items were selected. Principal components analysis and content validity assessment were used to further categorize the items into six FSN, ten PAE, and one WA domain. Using a proportional scaled score to summarize the number of policies adopted by states, it was found that on average states adopted about half of the FSN (49%), 38% of the PAE, and 17% of the WA policies examined. After adjusting for state-level measures of ethnicity and income, the average proportion of FSN policies adopted by states was correlated with the prevalence of youth obesity at r =0.35 (p=0.01). However, no correlation was found between either PAE or WA policies and youth obesity (PAE policies at r =0.02 [p=0.53] and WA policies at r =0.16 [p=0.40]).ConclusionsStates appear to be doing a better job adopting FSN policies than PA or WA policies, and adoption of policies is correlated with youth obesity. Continued monitoring of these policies seems to be warranted.

Dataset Information

Nutrition-labeling regulation impacts on restaurant environments.

Background

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Nutrition-labeling regulation impacts on restaurant environments.

Similar Datasets

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