title: The effect of providing nutritional information about fast-food restaurant menus on parents' meal choices for their children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To encourage healthier food choices for children in fast-food restaurants, many initiatives have been proposed. This study aimed to examine the effect of disclosing nutritional information on parents' meal choices for their children at fast-food restaurants in South Korea.
  
  
  METHODS
  An online experimental survey using a menu board was conducted with 242 parents of children aged 2-12 years who dined with them at fast-food restaurants at least once a month. Participants were classified into two groups: the low-calorie group (n = 41) who chose at least one of the lowest calorie meals in each menu category, and the high-calorie group (n = 201) who did not. The attributes including perceived empowerment, use of provided nutritional information, and perceived difficulties were compared between the two groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The low-calorie group perceived significantly higher empowerment with the nutritional information provided than did the high-calorie group (P = 0.020). Additionally, the low-calorie group was more interested in nutrition labeling (P < 0.001) and considered the nutritional value of menus when selecting restaurants for their children more than did the high-calorie group (P = 0.017). The low-calorie group used the nutritional information provided when choosing meals for their children significantly more than did the high-calorie group (P < 0.001), but the high-calorie group had greater difficulty using the nutritional information provided (P = 0.012).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that improving the empowerment of parents using nutritional information could be a strategy for promoting healthier parental food choices for their children at fast-food restaurants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition, Myongji University, 116 Myongji-ro, Cheoin-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi 449-728, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae-Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition, Myongji University, 116 Myongji-ro, Cheoin-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi 449-728, Korea.
authors.forename: Hae-Ryun
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Retail, Hospitality and Tourism Management, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, United States.
authors.forename: Kiwon
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition, Honam University, Gwangju 506-714, Korea.
authors.forename: Sooyoun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition, Myongji University, 116 Myongji-ro, Cheoin-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi 449-728, Korea.
authors.forename: Soyeong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition, Myongji University, 116 Myongji-ro, Cheoin-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi 449-728, Korea.
authors.forename: Jihye
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition, Myongji University, 116 Myongji-ro, Cheoin-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi 449-728, Korea. ; Nutritional Education, Graduate School of Education, Myongji University, Seoul 120-728, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung-Hee
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition, Myongji University, 116 Myongji-ro, Cheoin-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi 449-728, Korea.
authors.forename: Youngmi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lee
keywords: Fast-food restaurant; children; meal choice; nutritional labeling; parents