Assessing public perception and awareness of UK mandatory calorie labeling in the out‐of‐home sector: Using Twitter and Google trends data

Abstract

ObjectivesIn 2021 the UK government announced a new obesity policy requiring large out‐of‐home food outlets to provide mandatory in‐store calorie labeling on food and drink items. Public acceptability and engagement with obesity policies could influence the level of impact on wider public health particularly with population‐level policies such as calorie labeling. This study aimed to examine public responses and awareness of the policy using social media (Twitter) comments and Google trends data.MethodsThis study examined responses to social media posts on Twitter (tweets) from the UK Department of Health and Social Care detailing the policy, implementation date and post‐implementation information about the policy's enforcement. The sentiments of the tweets were coded and the number of likes and replies extracted. This study utilized google trends to examine public awareness of the policy by extracting weekly relative search volume for relevant phrases such as “calorie labeling.”ResultsFrom the 276 replies/quote‐tweet extracted, the majority expressed a negative sentiment toward the policy (N = 197/71.4%). There were fewer tweets expressing a positive sentiment (N = 25/8.7%) and a neutral/no sentiment (N = 54/19.6%). There was no difference in the number of “likes” or retweets between tweets expressing positive or negative sentiments. Five themes were identified expressing negative sentiments (most common being negative impacts on eating disorders). Google trends data revealed increased searches for “calorie labels/labeling” during the week of the policy enforcement compared to previous weeks in the last 5 years but no significant differences in searches for specific menu calorie labeling.ConclusionsThis analysis revealed negative sentiment toward and increased searching of calorie labeling information during the announcement and implementation of the 2021 mandatory calorie labeling policy in England. A greater understanding of public responses to calorie labeling policies may help tailor future policies and public communication strategies.

Point-of-choice kilocalorie labelling practices in large, out-of-home food businesses: a preobservational versus post observational study of labelling practices following implementation of The Calorie Labelling (Out of Home Sector) (England) Regulations 2021

“…This lack of compliance and potential hesitancy by food outlets to provide labelling information that is clear, legible and prominent may reflect an attempt by businesses to minimise the potential for kcal information to negatively impact product sales. Additionally, a lack of public support for kcal labelling policy 39 may have impacted on businesses willingness to fully comply with labelling guidance and in particular provide labelling that is prominent to customers. Food industries, specifically pizza chains in the USA, have argued for flexibility when providing labelling due to difficulties reporting kcal amounts for customisable food items with multiple combinations and frequently changing menus, 30 and this may be a contributory factor to a lack of compliance in England, particularly when reporting sharing options on menus.…”

“…Food industries, specifically pizza chains in the USA, have argued for flexibility when providing labelling due to difficulties reporting kcal amounts for customisable food items with multiple combinations and frequently changing menus, 30 and this may be a contributory factor to a lack of compliance in England, particularly when reporting sharing options on menus. The level of impact of mandatory kcal labelling on consumer behaviour may be dependent on consumers' level of engagement 39 and this may be mediated by the prevalence and prominence of kcal labelling in the OHFS. Whether kcal labelling is implemented and labelling is clearly and prominently presented is likely to impact whether customers notice and use kcal labelling when selecting products.…”

“…There has been some public concern about the implementation of mandatory kcal labelling in England, 39 specifically about the potential negative impacts on people with eating disorders. 42 In an attempt to mitigate potential negative impacts, as part of government guidance for kcal labelling, it was recommended that kcal-free menus be available in outlets on request.…”

The Impact of Surrogate Advertising on Public Perception and Awareness on Chhattisgarh with Special Reference to Raipur.

“…The Cable Television Network Rules of 1994, for instance, strictly prohibited the direct advertising of alcoholic beverages on television, while guidelines from the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) placed restrictions on depicting alcohol consumption in advertisements (Lisiak-Zielińska et al, 2023). Similarly, the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) of 2003 banned the direct advertising of tobacco products across most forms of media, including television, radio, print, and billboards (Polden et al, 2023). These regulatory measures aimed to address concerns about the adverse health effects of alcohol and tobacco consumption, as well as to respect cultural norms that viewed such direct advertising as socially unacceptable (Almaghrabi, 2023).…”

Acceptability and perceived harm of calorie labeling and other obesity policies: A cross‐sectional survey study of UK adults with eating disorders and other mental health conditions

“…Calorie labeling policy will provide consumers with easy access to calorie information, which may impact consumer purchasing behavior leading to wider impacts on health and obesity levels (Department of Health and Social Care, 2020a ). However, the introduction of mandatory calorie labeling in UK OHFO has some public concern (Polden et al, 2023 ) and could be damaging to people with mental health conditions, particularly people with an eating disorder (ED) (Kaur et al, 2022 ; Olsen, 2021 ). Specifically, Beat, the UK ED charity opposed the implementation of mandatory calorie labeling after warning that calorie labeling on menus “risks exacerbating all eating disorders” (Beat Eating Disorders, 2020 ).…”