| Eating out at restaurants has been identified as a major contributor to the epidemic of obesity in America. This study explored the impact on restaurant food choices of including health information and health icons on menus. Prior quantitative research has demonstrated that health information on menus leads to healthier food choices, but not enough is known about the decision-making process behind these choices. Also, further insight into what happens when health information or health icons are included on menus is needed for developing strategies to encourage healthier choices. Qualitative research methods were used to gather in-depth information about which choices customers make at restaurants and the role the menu plays in these choices. Focus groups were held with mothers (with at least one child under 10) and seniors (aged 65+). Grounded theory analysis yielded a set of factors affecting food choice at restaurants and the impact of menu information on healthy food choices. Ways to increase healthier eating at restaurants included reaching mothers through their willingness to sacrifice for others, giving restaurants patrons a feeling of control, and relying on the shock value of menu information to change the food selections people make. The primary deterrents to encouraging healthy eating at restaurants are the perceived disconnect between healthy eating and enjoyable experiences and the belief held by many people that they can somehow compensate for poor eating habits at restaurants. Health information was found to have a stronger effect on restaurant food choices than health icons, but icons did not provoke any serious negative reactions. One of the best ways to encourage healthy eating at restaurants is to make available to those segments of people who are most interested (e.g. dieters) a separate menu which combines menu descriptions, pictures, and health information, specifically calories, fat grams, and sodium levels.;Keywords. Restaurant, Menu, Food, Health Information, Health Icons, Focus Groups, Qualitative Research, Grounded Theory, NVivo7, Calories, Sodium... |
