For years now, there has been considerable public health concern about the quality of the American diet and the rise in the prevalence of obesity. In response, the U.S. adopted a nationwide law in 2018 requiring that chain restaurants display calorie counts on their menus and menu boards. To estimate the impact of calorie labeling, LSU Department of Economics Assistant Professor Barton Willage and his co-authors wrote an article titled, "The Impact of Information Disclosure on Consumer Behavior: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment of Calorie Labels on Restaurant Menus," that was published by the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. Previous studies have examined the impact of menu label laws almost exclusively in fast-food restaurants and coffee shops. This study provides the first evidence of the effect of menu labels in full-service, sit-down restaurants.
