Nutritionalqualityofmenusat
full‐servicerestaurantchains
Summaryrecommendationsforrestaurants
DrexelUniversity,
SchoolofPublicHealth
Caloriesandnutrientsonfull‐servicemenus
DrexelUniversityanalyzedthenutritionalvalueoffoodslistedon21full‐servicerestaurantchain
menus.
CaloriesandNutrients onAdultMenus
Calories
75%
Adultdaily
recommendedlimits
Calories
Sodium
SaturatedFat
2000kcal
2300mg
20g
Averagemeals
displayedonmenus
1500kcal* 3510mg
28g
(adultentrée+sidedish+
½appetizer)
Adultmealsonmenu
averaged75%to100%of
caloriesforanentireday*
(75%)
(153%)
(140%)
(Valuesasapercentofdailyrecommendedintake)
Averageadult
mealsonmenu
exceededdaily
recommended
levelsofsodium
&saturatedfat
CaloriesandNutrients onChildren'sMenus
Calories
Sodium
SaturatedFat
Children'sdaily
recommendedlimits 1400kcal 1610mg
14g
Averagemeals
displayedonmenus
690kcal 1380mg 10g
Calories
53%
Children’smealsonmenu
averaged53%ofcalories
foranentireday
(children'sentrée+side
dish+beverage)
(49%)
(86%)
(71%)
Averagechildren’s
mealsonmenuhad
over70%ofdaily
recommended
levelsofsodium&
saturatedfat
(Valuesasapercentofdailyrecommendedintake)
*Whenadultmealsdisplayedonmenusincluded½appetizer,entree,side
dish,½desert+beverage,thenaveragecaloriestotaled2020kcalor100%
ofcaloriesforanentireday.
Healthierchoicesonmenus
Onlyhalfofthe21full‐servicerestaurantchainsincludedinthisstudyoffered“healthier
choice”menuoptions,andamongthoserestaurants,only10%ofalacarteentrees
weretaggedassuch.Atsevenoutletsofonefull‐servicechainrestaurant,13%of
customerspurchaseda“healthierchoice”itemandthosecustomersweremore
likelytobemiddle‐aged(40yearsorolder)andhaveattendedgraduateschool.
Whilecriteriafor“healthychoices”varied,mostemphasizedlowercaloriesratherthanabroader
suiteofnutrients.“Healthychoice”itemswerelowerincaloriesandfatthanotheritems,but
sodiumfarexceededhealthylevelsandfiberwaslow.Averagesodiumina"healthychoice"ala
carteentreewas1565mgor70%ofsodiumforanentireday.Tobetteridentify“healthychoice”
items,restaurantscanutilizetheHealthyDiningcriteria(seeresourcelistonbackpage).
HealthyDiningCriteriaforaSingleAdultMeal
Calories
<750cal
Sodium
<750mg
Totalfat
<25g
Saturated
fat
<8g
Fiber
>5g
1 Opportunitiesforimprovement
Consumercomprehensionofmenulabels&nutrition
Includenutritioninformationforeachmenuitem
Reduceportionsizes ofregularentrees
• Reduceportionsizetoenhancehealthbenefits
• Offersmallportionsofregular‐sizeditems(e.g.,small‐plates,half‐portions)
Reducesalt usedinfoodpreparation
• Preparemoremenuitemsfromscratchinordertocontrolsodium
1teaspoonof
• JointheU.S.NationalSodiumReductionInitiative&committoloweringsodium
salt=sodium
• Tagmenuitemsthatarelowerinsodium(FDAdefines"low"sodiumas
forentireday
<140per100gramswhichtranslatesto<600mgsodiumfor15ouncesoffood)
Offermoremealsthatarelowinsaturatedfat
• Reduceuseofsaturatedfats(solidfats)includingcheeseandcream
• Avoidcheeseasadefaulttopping&chargeextraforaddingit
• Offer&promotevegetarianentreesthathavelow/nodairy
2tablespoonsof
butter=saturatedfat
forentireday
Guaranteethatchildrenhavehealthfulmealoptions
• Excludesugarydrinksfromchildren'smenus
• AdoptcriteriafromtheNationalRestaurantAssociation'sKidsLiveWell
menu(seelastpageforreference)
Enhanceappealto health‐consciouscustomers
• Increasefibertoimprovesatietywhiledecreasingcalories
Highfiber
• Increase"healthychoice"items&promotetheseitemsinmenupictures
Lowsodium
• Ensure"healthychoice"itemsmeetcriteriaforcalories,sodium,andsaturated
Lowsaturated
fat.Atminimum,usecriteriafromtherestaurantindustry'sHealthyDining
fat
(seelastpageforreference).
2 Resources
PhiladelphiaMenuLabeling
InformationforConsumers
http://www.foodfitphilly.org/menu‐labeling/ InformationforPhiladelphiaFoodEstablishments
http://www.phila.gov/health/services/Serv_MenuLabeling.html Full‐ServiceRestaurantMenuEvaluation.
Informationontherestaurantmenuanalysis,methodology,andresults.
http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~aha27/index.html
Full‐ServiceRestaurantCustomerEvaluation. Informationonthecustomerinterceptstudy,methodology,andresults.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24237912
FocusGroupResearch
Informationonthefocusgroupstudy,methodology,andresults.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23388204
DailyRecommendedIntakeValues.
http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/dietary‐guidance/dietary‐reference‐intakes
HealthyEatingTips.
Guidestofacilitatehealthyeating,portioncontrol,andnutritionawareness.
http://www.choosemyplate.gov/
NationalSaltReductionInitiative
http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/diseases/salt.shtml
HealthyDiningNutritionCriteria(websiteaccessedOctober2013)
http://www.Healthydiningfinder.Com/about‐this‐site/nutrition‐criteria
http://www.Healthydiningfinder.Com/sodium‐savvy/ss‐criteria
http://www.Healthydiningfinder.Com/blogs‐recipes‐more/ask‐the‐dietitians/best‐restaurant‐dishes‐high‐in‐fiber
NationalRestaurantAssociation'sKidsLiveWellmenu http://www.restaurant.org/Industry‐Impact/Food‐Healthy‐Living/Kids‐LiveWell‐
Program
RecommendationsforKid’sMeals
http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/cspi‐kids‐meals‐2013.pdf
Acknowledgements
ThissummarywaswrittenbyDrexelUniversity'sSchoolofPublicHealth,NutritionSciences
Department,andCulinaryArtsandFoodSciencewiththeCenterforHospitalityandSport
Management;andPhiladelphiaDepartmentofPublicHealth.
Suggestedcitation:DrexelUniversity&PhiladelphiaDepartmentofPublicHealth.(2013).Nutritional
qualityofmenusatfull‐servicerestaurantchains:summaryofrecommendationsforrestaurants.
Philadelphia,Pennsylvania:DrexelUniversitySchoolofPublicHealth.
http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~aha27/ExecSummaryForRestaurants.pdf
TheimageonthefrontcoverisbyGertLavsenhttp://500px.com/lavsen
DocumentdateDec14,2013
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