TY - JOUR
T1 - Calorie Labeling and Product Reformulation
T2 - A Longitudinal Analysis of Supermarket-Prepared Foods
AU - Grummon, Anna H.
AU - Petimar, Joshua
AU - Zhang, Fang
AU - Rao, Anjali
AU - Gortmaker, Steven L.
AU - Rimm, Eric B.
AU - Bleich, Sara N.
AU - Moran, Alyssa J.
AU - Franckle, Rebecca L.
AU - Polacsek, Michele
AU - Simon, Denise
AU - Greene, Julie C.
AU - Till, Sue
AU - Block, Jason P.
N1 - Funding Information:
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases through Grant R01 DK115492 (principal investigator: JPB, www.nih.gov/ ). JP was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute through Grant T32 HL098048 (principal investigators: EBR and GD, www.nih.gov/ ).
Funding Information:
The research presented in this paper is that of the authors and does not reflect the official policy of NIH. The views expressed in this paper by Sara Bleich are solely the personal views of the author. The content of the paper is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funders. The funders had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, or interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. We confirm the independence of researchers from funders and that all authors, external and internal, had full access to all of the data (including statistical reports and tables) in the study and can take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases through Grant R01 DK115492 (principal investigator: JPB, www.nih.gov/). JP was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute through Grant T32 HL098048 (principal investigators: EBR and GD, www.nih.gov/). Author roles were as follows: AHG, JP, and JPB led the design of the study. AHG analyzed the data, created data visualizations, and drafted the initial manuscript. FZ and SLG provided expert guidance on statistical analyses. AHG, JP, AJM, RLF, DS, and AR contributed to data curation. DS provided project management. EBR and ST contributed to data acquisition. FZ, SLG, EBR, SNB, MP, and JPB contributed to the design and conceptualization of the study and to funding acquisition. JPB provided expert guidance on each stage of the project, including study design, data curation, and data analysis and interpretation, and oversaw all aspects of the study. All authors provided critical feedback on manuscript drafts and approved the final manuscript. The contents of this article have not been previously published elsewhere. No financial disclosures were reported by the authors of this paper.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 American Journal of Preventive Medicine
PY - 2021/9
Y1 - 2021/9
N2 - Introduction: The 2010 Affordable Care Act required chain retail food establishments, including supermarkets, to post calorie information for prepared (i.e., ready to eat) foods. Implementation of calorie labeling could spur companies to reduce the calorie content of prepared foods, but few studies have explored this. This study evaluates the changes in the calorie content of prepared foods at 2 large U.S. supermarket chains after they implemented calorie labels in April 2017. Methods: The chains (≈1,200 stores) provided data on the calorie content and labeling status of all items sold between July 2015 and January 2019. In 2021, analyses used a difference-in-differences approach to examine the changes in the calorie content of prepared bakery, entree, and deli items introduced before calorie labeling to those introduced after the labeling compared with changes in similar foods not subject to the new labeling requirement. Primary analyses examined continuously available items; exploratory analyses examined items newly introduced to the marketplace. Results: Relative to changes in comparison foods not subject to the labeling requirement, continuously available prepared bakery items decreased by 7.7 calories per item after calorie labels were implemented (95% CI= −12.9, −2.5, p=0.004, ≈0.5% reduction). In exploratory analyses, prepared bakery items introduced after calorie labeling contained 440 fewer calories per item than those introduced before calorie labeling (95% CI= −773.9, −106.1, p=0.01, ≈27% reduction), driven by reductions in product size. No changes were observed in the calorie content of continuously available or newly introduced prepared entrees or deli items. Conclusions: Implementing calorie labels could encourage product reformulation among some types of prepared supermarket foods. These supply-side changes could lead to reductions in caloric intake.
AB - Introduction: The 2010 Affordable Care Act required chain retail food establishments, including supermarkets, to post calorie information for prepared (i.e., ready to eat) foods. Implementation of calorie labeling could spur companies to reduce the calorie content of prepared foods, but few studies have explored this. This study evaluates the changes in the calorie content of prepared foods at 2 large U.S. supermarket chains after they implemented calorie labels in April 2017. Methods: The chains (≈1,200 stores) provided data on the calorie content and labeling status of all items sold between July 2015 and January 2019. In 2021, analyses used a difference-in-differences approach to examine the changes in the calorie content of prepared bakery, entree, and deli items introduced before calorie labeling to those introduced after the labeling compared with changes in similar foods not subject to the new labeling requirement. Primary analyses examined continuously available items; exploratory analyses examined items newly introduced to the marketplace. Results: Relative to changes in comparison foods not subject to the labeling requirement, continuously available prepared bakery items decreased by 7.7 calories per item after calorie labels were implemented (95% CI= −12.9, −2.5, p=0.004, ≈0.5% reduction). In exploratory analyses, prepared bakery items introduced after calorie labeling contained 440 fewer calories per item than those introduced before calorie labeling (95% CI= −773.9, −106.1, p=0.01, ≈27% reduction), driven by reductions in product size. No changes were observed in the calorie content of continuously available or newly introduced prepared entrees or deli items. Conclusions: Implementing calorie labels could encourage product reformulation among some types of prepared supermarket foods. These supply-side changes could lead to reductions in caloric intake.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.amepre.2021.03.013
DO - 10.1016/j.amepre.2021.03.013
M3 - Article
C2 - 34103209
AN - SCOPUS:85108207215
SN - 0749-3797
VL - 61
SP - 377
EP - 385
JO - American journal of preventive medicine
JF - American journal of preventive medicine
IS - 3
ER -