New research has found that putting lower-calorie meal choices at the top of a restaurant menu, and reducing the availability of high-calorie options, makes teenagers more likely to order the healthier options.
Childhood obesity rates have been increasing year on year, with government pledges and targets to reduce obesity unfulfilled or missed. Restaurants are a common food environment for adolescents, with one-fifth of children consuming meals out at least once a week.
A recent study from the University of Birmingham and Aston University, published in the journal Appetite, has found that positioning main course options on a restaurant menu from lower to higher calorie amounts makes adolescents more likely to pick the healthier (lower calorie) option.
Dr Katie Edwards, Research Fellow in Psychology who led the study,…