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. 2013 Sep;35(3):354-60.
doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdt049. Epub 2013 May 22.

Use of calorie information at fast food and chain restaurants among US youth aged 9-18 years, 2010

H Wethington  1 , L M Maynard, H M Blanck
Affiliations

Use of calorie information at fast food and chain restaurants among US youth aged 9-18 years, 2010

H Wethington et al. J Public Health (Oxf). 2013 Sep.

Abstract

Background: To examine whether youth use calorie information when it is available at fast food/chain restaurants and what factors are associated with using this information to make their food selection.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted on a sample of 721 youth (9-18 years) using the 2010 YouthStyles and HealthStyles surveys. The outcome measure was reported use of calorie information at fast food/chain restaurants. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the associations between sociodemographic variables and the use of calorie information at fast food/chain restaurants.

Results: Of those who visited fast food/chain restaurants, 42.4% reported using calorie information at least sometimes. Girls were more likely than boys (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.2-2.5) and youth who were obese were more likely than those at a healthy weight (aOR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.04-2.9) to use calorie information, and youth eating at a fast food/chain restaurant twice a week or more versus once a week or less were half as likely to report using calorie information (aOR = 0.5, 95% CI = 0.4-0.8).

Conclusion: Public health education efforts can benefit from research to determine how to increase usage among youth so that their food choices are appropriate for their caloric needs.

Keywords: children; food and nutrition; individual behaviour.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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