Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA.
Obesity (Silver Spring). 2014 Mar;22(3):630-2. doi: 10.1002/oby.20668. Epub 2013 Dec 23.
What happens if a fast-food restaurant chain lowers the calories in a children's meal bundle (CMB), mainly by reducing the portion size of French fries? This study examines how such changes may influence within-meal selections. Specifically, do lower-calorie changes lead to within-meal calorie compensation?
Item-level anonymous transaction data were collected for thirty chain-owned representative U.S. restaurants during June, July, and August of 2011 (pre-changes) and 2012 (post-changes) with a focus on transaction records that included a CMB. Mixed-effects, repeated measures estimation techniques were used for the analysis. Outcome measures were the percentage and caloric profile of specific entrée items, side items, and beverages purchased in all children selecting meals.
The new CMB resulted in selected children's meals that had an average of 18.8% fewer calories (P < 0.001). Additionally, a greater percentage of meals had milk (P < 0.001) compared to the prior year.
Small changes in the automatic-or default-foods offered or promoted in children's meals can reduce calorie intake and improve the overall nutrition from selected foods as long as there is still an indulgence. Importantly, balancing a meal with smaller portions of favored foods might avoid reactance and overeating. Just as managers have done this in restaurants, parents can do this at home.
如果一家快餐连锁店降低儿童餐套餐（CMB）的卡路里含量，主要通过减少薯条的份量，会发生什么？本研究考察了这些变化如何可能影响餐内选择。具体来说，低卡路里的变化是否会导致餐内卡路里补偿？
在 2011 年 6 月、7 月和 8 月（变化前）和 2012 年（变化后）期间，收集了三十家连锁餐厅的具有代表性的美国餐厅的匿名交易数据，重点是包括 CMB 的交易记录。采用混合效应、重复测量估计技术进行分析。结果衡量标准是所有选择餐食的儿童购买的特定主菜、配菜和饮料的百分比和热量分布。
新的 CMB 导致所选儿童餐的平均卡路里减少了 18.8%（P<0.001）。此外，与前一年相比，更多的餐食含有牛奶（P<0.001）。
只要仍然有放纵，在儿童餐中提供或推广的自动或默认食品的微小变化可以减少卡路里摄入并改善所选食物的整体营养。重要的是，通过较小份量的受欢迎食物来平衡餐食可以避免反应性和暴饮暴食。正如管理者在餐厅中所做的那样，父母也可以在家中这样做。
