As reported on NPR, a recent study of large restaurant chains found that new menu items in 2013 had almost 60 fewer calories on average than new 2012 offerings. The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, included an analysis of 66 of the 100 largest restaurant chains, including fast food, fast casual, and full service restaurants.
The study found that overall, new menu items in 2013 had about 56 fewer calories, on average, compared to new items from 2012. By category, the largest reduction was in new main courses, which averaged about 67 fewer calories in 2013. New children’s items had about 46 fewer calories in 2013. By contrast, some categories had increases. For example, new appetizers and sides had about 61 more calories in 2013. The study also found that among those restaurants with a primary food focus (such as burgers), “declines in calories in new items were larger among menu items not core to the business of the chain restaurant.”
There was no change in calorie counts among menu items available in both years.
