Factors Associated with Self-Reported Menu-Labeling Usage among US Adults.

BACKGROUND: Menu labeling can help people select foods and beverages with fewer calories and is a potential population-based strategy to reduce obesity and diet-related chronic diseases in the United States.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the prevalence of menu-labeling use among adults and its association with sociodemographic, behavioral, and policy factors.
METHODS: The 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data from 17 states, which included 100,141 adults who noticed menu labeling at fast-food or chain restaurants ("When calorie information is available in the restaurant, how often does this information help you decide what to order?") were used. Menu-labeling use was categorized as frequent (always/most of the time), moderate (half the time/sometimes), and never. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine associations among sociodemographic, behavioral, and policy factors with menu-labeling use.
RESULTS: Overall, of adults who noticed menu labeling, 25.6% reported frequent use of menu labeling, 31.6% reported moderate use, and 42.7% reported that they never use menu labeling. Compared with never users, frequent users were significantly more likely to be younger, female, nonwhite, more educated, high-income, adults who were overweight or obese, physically active, former- or never-smokers, less than daily (<1 time/day) consumers of sugar-sweetened beverage, and living in states where menu-labeling legislation was enacted or proposed.
CONCLUSIONS: Menu labeling is one method that consumers can use to help reduce their calorie consumption from restaurants. These findings can be used to develop targeted interventions to increase menu-labeling use among subpopulations with lower use. Published by Elsevier Inc.