Department of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Department of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Am J Prev Med. 2023 Jan;64(1):42-50. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2022.07.015. Epub 2022 Sep 22.
More than 50% of Canadians report regularly eating foods prepared at restaurants. The literature shows poor nutritional quality of restaurant foods. No federal policy on improving the nutritional quality of restaurant food is available except for a provincial regulation that mandates Ontario chain restaurants to display the energy content of items on menus. There is limited information on the nutrition information reporting and nutritional quality of restaurant foods. This study aimed to examine the nutrition information reporting and nutritional quality of menu items of Canadian chain restaurants in 2020.
Nutrition information for menu items (n=18,760) was collected and analyzed from Canadian restaurants with ≥20 outlets nationally between 2020 and 2021. Menu items were categorized into 5 categories. Descriptive statistics were calculated for serving size, energy, and saturated fat, sodium, and sugar. Percentage daily values of energy and nutrient levels were calculated following the Canadian labeling guidelines.
Of the 201 eligible chain restaurants, 141 (70%) provided some nutrition information, of which 70 (50%) voluntarily provided the complete nutrition information that is required on prepackaged foods. Overall, menu items were high per serving in energy (mean kcal=483; 95% CI=477, 489), saturated fat (mean=7.4 g; 95% CI=7.2, 7.5), sodium (mean=867 mg; 95% CI=853, 881), and total sugars (mean=17 g; 95% CI=17, 17), and all exceeded the recommended 15% percentage daily values threshold.
Although most chain restaurants provided nutrition information, the lack of regulations regarding reporting format and provision of serving size and other nutrients challenges the assessment of the nutritional quality of menu items. Interventions to standardize nutrition information reporting and improve nutritional quality are needed in the restaurant sector.
超过 50%的加拿大人经常食用在餐馆制作的食物。文献表明，餐馆食品的营养质量较差。除了安大略省的一项规定要求安大略省连锁餐厅在菜单上显示项目的能量含量外，没有改善餐馆食品营养质量的联邦政策。关于餐馆食品的营养信息报告和营养质量的信息有限。本研究旨在检查 2020 年加拿大连锁餐厅的菜单项目的营养信息报告和营养质量。
2020 年至 2021 年期间，从全国拥有 20 家以上门店的加拿大餐厅中收集和分析了菜单项目的营养信息（n=18760）。菜单项目分为 5 类。计算了份量、能量以及饱和脂肪、钠和糖的营养素含量的描述性统计数据。根据加拿大标签指南计算了能量和营养素水平的每日百分比值。
在 201 家合格的连锁餐厅中，有 141 家（70%）提供了一些营养信息，其中 70 家（50%）自愿提供了预包装食品所需的完整营养信息。总体而言，每份菜单项目的能量（平均值 kcal=483；95%CI=477，489）、饱和脂肪（平均值=7.4 克；95%CI=7.2，7.5）、钠（平均值=867 毫克；95%CI=853，881）和总糖（平均值=17 克；95%CI=17，17）都很高，所有这些都超过了推荐的 15%每日百分比值阈值。
尽管大多数连锁餐厅提供了营养信息，但报告格式以及提供份量和其他营养素的规定缺乏，这给评估菜单项目的营养质量带来了挑战。需要在餐厅行业采取干预措施，以标准化营养信息报告并改善营养质量。
