Could an Exercise Menu Help You to Lose Weight?

If you know how many hours of exercise it would take to burn off that burger, would you still want to eat it? According to researchers from the Texas Christian University, in Fort Worth, you’d probably think twice about it. Their findings, which they presented at the Experimental Biology 2013 meeting in Boston, showed that when diners were told how many hours of exercise were needed to burn off calories, they ordered less food and choose healthier options.

The researchers also noted that people failed to choose healthier options when solely presented with nutritional data. The research, which involved 300 men and women between the ages of 18 and 30, adds to previous studies which have found calorie content information does not lead to fewer calories ordered or consumed. Researcher Ashlei James, from the university’s department of kinesiology, explained, ‘Brisk walking is something nearly everyone can relate to, which is why we displayed on the menu the minutes of brisk walking needed to burn food calories.’

For the study, participants where showed three menus, one with no warnings, one detailing calorie content and another with hours needed to burn off calories. The dishes were the same on all menus, and included a range of options such as burgers, chicken sandwiches, salad, chips and desserts. Participants who realised how much exercise they would have to do to burn off the fat ordered much less, while the other menus didn’t lead to any food reductions.

Miss James noted, ‘The group was randomly assigned to a menu without calorie labels, a menu with calorie labels, or a menu with labels for the minutes of brisk walking needed to burn the food calories. All menus contained the same food and beverage options, which included burgers, chicken sandwiches/tenders, salad, fries, desserts, soda, and water.’

According to Dr Meena Shah, who led the study, there needs to be a more effective strategy to encourage people to order and consume fewer calories from restaurant menus. ‘This study suggests there are benefits to displaying exercise minutes to a group of young men and women,’ she said, adding, ‘This is the first study to look at the effects of displaying minutes of brisk walking needed to burn food calories on the calories ordered and consumed.’

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