Research

Adherence

Modified calorie labels, such as traffic light systems or daily calorie recommendations, can encourage lower-calorie purchases, potentially more effectively than calorie labels alone in some contexts.

If you are designing a menu or choosing food, look for modified labels like traffic lights or daily calorie recommendations. They can help you make lower-calorie choices, especially when combined with plain calorie numbers.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
The limited data on modified calorie labels find that such labels can encourage lower-calorie purchases but may not differ in effects relative to calorie labels alone.
Sara N. Bleich et al. · Obesity · 2017

Why this rating

Limited data, but shows promise in specific studies.

Source

A Systematic Review of Calorie Labeling and Modified Calorie Labeling Interventions: Impact on Consumer and Restaurant Behavior

Sara N. Bleich et al. · Obesity · 2017

DOI 10.1002/oby.21940

systematic_reviewCited 225×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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