Help me out a little with this...

mialsya
mialsya Posts: 188 Member
edited September 28 in Food and Nutrition
I'm taking an Experimental Psychology course this summer and we have to design our own psychological experiment and conduct it. I'm thinking about doing something about informed decision making when ordering at a restaurant. I pose this question: If the calorie counts were posted on every menu you ordered from, would you think twice about what you ordered? For example, let's say you had seen a new feature advertised at a local fast food place that you thought you would try. You get to the menu and see it has 1660 calories, plus 450 for the fries and another 370 for the soda. Would you still order it? (These are actual figures from a fast food chain's menu.) Or would you change your mind and order the item with 400 calories, downgrade the fries to a small with 200 calories, and get a diet soda with no calories?

This is just a preliminary question to kind of give me enough feedback so I can structure an actual experimental study. COnsider it more curiosity than anything. :)
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Replies

  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
    Down grade 99% of the time. I feel too guilty and just can't do it if it right in front of me.
  • NotaNikki
    NotaNikki Posts: 40
    I wish all restaurants did this! It would save so much time and would be so nice to just be able to go out to eat and be able to make an informed decision there instead of having to do research beforehand.
  • kristelpoole
    kristelpoole Posts: 440 Member
    I would ABSOLUTELY take that into consideration and I wish more places did this.
  • Andee08
    Andee08 Posts: 147 Member
    I think it would make a difference if people had the calories blarring them in the face when they ordered. I think this is also a main reason why McDonalds is running the ads stating that their egg mcmuffin is only 300 calories. This is also why healthy choice restaraunts state the amount of calories in their food. It will help people feel good that they ate there.
  • sharoniballoni
    sharoniballoni Posts: 163 Member
    Yes, the calorie counts definitely affect what I order when they are listed on the menu. In fact, when I know I'm going to a restaurant, I try to look at the menu in advance in order to make the best decision ahead of time.
  • travelgirl09
    travelgirl09 Posts: 151 Member
    I would definitely downgrade and take the info into consideration.
  • sblair77
    sblair77 Posts: 355 Member
    I wish they did this! I would love an easier time making better choices. I would also like them to list things that you think are healthy but are actually cooked in loads of butter! I hate when I order veggies and they come sitting in a pond of butter.
  • lsan1125
    lsan1125 Posts: 20
    I know I certainly would order the menu item with less calories. And I know that even if I was not watching my intake I would feel guilty/bad about ordering something with that many calories.
  • aa1440
    aa1440 Posts: 956 Member
    I stopped drinking sodas three years ago. Those things will kill you.

    But yes, I always look at the calories. I check the web site for eateries before I walk in the door.
  • cammons
    cammons Posts: 126 Member
    I wish all restaurants did this! It would save so much time and would be so nice to just be able to go out to eat and be able to make an informed decision there instead of having to do research beforehand.


    I totally agree! Having calorie counts on the menu (rather than on a tray liner after I've ordered as in many fast food restaurants) would make a big difference on the way both my husband and I order. I can't tell you how often we've ordered something only to see the NI on the bag or tray liner and then ended up tossing half or more of the meal...some of those numbers can really turn your stomach.
  • Xandi
    Xandi Posts: 319
    I would and do...
    I love Chains that have added the calories to the menus.. if it is on a separate piece of paper it takes me forever to order something.
  • widmar
    widmar Posts: 72
    I live in the northern California valley and most places here have the calories and fat grams on their menus. It is the law that all food business now post calories and fat grams for the customer to easily see. It's kinda scary!!!! LOL
  • TakuraHunt
    TakuraHunt Posts: 208
    Honestly... before MFP I would have ordered the new feature and not given it a second thought. But now I would have to downgrade!!!
  • widmar
    widmar Posts: 72
    A lot of places also post on their drive thru menu's.
  • rundgrenfan
    rundgrenfan Posts: 211
    I would now, but I might not have a year ago.
  • acave9406
    acave9406 Posts: 124 Member
    I would love if the restaurants did that!
    I'd feel waaaaay to disgusted to know how many calories were in what I was about to eat and I would turn away.
  • sstans
    sstans Posts: 5 Member
    I would! I would also love it if all eateries did this! I do go on line and do as much research as possible before eating out, whenever possible!
  • ruststar
    ruststar Posts: 489 Member
    The few times I've seen the calorie and fat counts in the menus it has definitely made me stop and rethink what I wanted to order. If it's posted on a wall somewhere I'm not going to stand there and agonize - instead I'll research at home before I leave or do the best I can to make an informed choice from what I know of the food prep (baked over fried, steamed over sauteed, etc...). You'll probably want to have a group of people who aren't actively paying attention to their diets to work with as well.
  • Peridotite
    Peridotite Posts: 66
    and to add to the overwhelming response....I would down grade! Maybe not 100% of the time, but yes I always would like to know the calorie and fat content before I order when I eat out.

    Hope it helps :flowerforyou:
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    If the calorie counts were posted on every menu you ordered from, would you think twice about what you ordered?

    I would LOVE to know this upfront. I can use my MFP app to look things up but having it on the menu would be a blessing. I don't always know what I'm eating is bad until I look it up as some things are not intuitive.

    So, to answer your question directly, yes, it would change my decision!
  • devenwarvel
    devenwarvel Posts: 26 Member
    It would FOR SURE influence my decision. Plus, it would save the time of trying to look uo that info before going out to eat.
  • BlessedMomX2
    BlessedMomX2 Posts: 241 Member
    98% chance I would downgrade! Since starting MFP I usually look up the nutrition info before going somewhere Just so I know what the best thing is to order
  • tryinghard2012
    tryinghard2012 Posts: 419 Member
    Now that I'm tracking calories, YES, however before my lifestyle change, NO. The calories being posted would have meant nothing to me.
  • mialsya
    mialsya Posts: 188 Member
    Now that I'm tracking calories, YES, however before my lifestyle change, NO. The calories being posted would have meant nothing to me.

    I posted this same question on Facebook and the only friend that has undergone a huge weight loss was the only one to mimic this response. The rest are pretty much saying it wouldn't matter to them. Hmmm...
  • mjtbb
    mjtbb Posts: 77 Member
    This is a good question but you need to get feedback from other type of sites (non-fitness ones). I would have looked twice before I was here because I knew already about how much you should be eating in a sensible diet but there are many people out there who would see a 1600 calorie entree and it would mean nothing to them. On the other hand there will be many like me before MFP that would downgrade or eat less because it certainly will make you feel a little guilty to order something so hi-calorie. I think if they do put the fat content also it might actually reach more people. That is an easier concept, to see you are ordering something with a very high fat content. It would have certainly stopped me from ordering even before MFP.

    Melanie
  • jpowell3976
    jpowell3976 Posts: 144 Member
    Heck yes I would...NOW...back THEN...probably not. I didn't care about how much of anything was in my food...as long as it tasted good & made me "feel better"....I'm an emotional eater in recovery. :) 114 days on eating for fuel and not feelings! Yay! 115 days on MFP! (Had a small slip with a snack size bag of chips when my mother was hospitalized earlier this month.)
  • bunchesonothing
    bunchesonothing Posts: 1,015 Member
    I love it when restaurants post calorie counts.

    However, if you're going to do this study, I would definitely get an equal amount of people who are not on websites like this.
  • mialsya
    mialsya Posts: 188 Member
    I love it when restaurants post calorie counts.

    However, if you're going to do this study, I would definitely get an equal amount of people who are not on websites like this.

    The study will draw from a randomized sample of population. This is just a preliminary question to give me some ideas how to structure the study. We're supposed to submit our idea and justification for the idea to the professor in the next couple of weeks so I'm just doing an unofficial survey to help me with my justification and hypothesis formation.
  • dustyhockeymom
    dustyhockeymom Posts: 537 Member
    I would definately consider this information. I use an app on my phone but it only has some restaurants. I wish it was right there on the menu.
  • hazelnutflav
    hazelnutflav Posts: 391 Member
    this is my main reason for NOT eating fast food, their job is to sell you the biggest portion aka the most calorie laden food on the menu if they posted a menue i would read each and every thing to see what was the least calories hopefully they have salad so i would definetely get that.
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