title: Supersize the label: The effect of prominent calorie labeling on sales.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Calorie labeling has been suggested as an antiobesity measure; however, evidence on its effects is scarce and formatting guidance not well defined. The aim of this study was to test the effects of prominent calorie labeling on sales of the labeled items.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prominent calorie labels were posted in front of two popular items for a period of 1 mo. Sales were recorded for 2 mo consecutively, before and during labeling.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Muffins sales (the higher-calorie item) fell by 30%, whereas sales of scones rose by 4%, a significant difference (χ2= 10.258; P = 0.0014).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Calorie labeling is effective when noticed. Wider adoption of calorie labeling for all food businesses and strengthening legislation with formatting guidelines should be the next step in public health policy.
authors.affiliation: SSH/JURI-Universite Catholique de Louvain, College Thomas More, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Electronic address: charoulanikolaou@yahoo.co.uk.
authors.forename: Charoula K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Nikolaou
authors.affiliation: Human Nutrition Section, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, Scotland.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McPartland
authors.affiliation: Human Nutrition Section, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, Scotland.
authors.forename: Livia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Demkova
authors.affiliation: Human Nutrition Section, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, Scotland.
authors.forename: Michael E J
authors.initials: MEJ
authors.lastname: Lean
mesh_terms: D002755:Choice Behavior; D004032:Diet; D005515:Food Labeling; D005518:Food Preferences; D006801:Humans; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control; D015995:Prevalence; D011634:Public Health; D012147:Restaurants; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015430:Weight Gain
keywords: Calorie-labelling; Obesity prevention; Policy; Public health; Weight-gain prevention; Young adults