Point-of-choice kilocalorie labelling practices in large, out-of-home food businesses: a preobservational versus post observational study of labelling practices following implementation of The Calorie Labelling (Out of Home Sector) (England) Regulations 2021

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

On 6 April 2022, the UK government implemented mandatory kilocalorie (kcal) labelling regulations for food and drink products sold in the out-of-home food sector (OHFS) in England. Previous assessments of kcal labelling practices in the UK OHFS found a low prevalence of voluntary implementation and poor compliance with labelling recommendations. This study aimed to examine changes in labelling practices preimplementation versus post implementation of mandatory labelling regulations in 2022.

METHODS

In August-December 2021 (preimplementation) and August-November 2022 (post implementation), large OHFS businesses (250 or more employees) subject to labelling regulations were visited. At two time points, a researcher visited the same 117 food outlets (belonging to 90 unique businesses) across four local authorities in England. Outlets were rated for compliance with government regulations for whether kcal labelling was provided at any or all point of choice, provided for all eligible food and drink items, provided per portion for sharing items, if labelling was clear and legible and if kcal reference information was displayed.

RESULTS

There was a significant increase (21% preimplementation vs 80% post implementation, OR=40.98 (95% CI 8.08 to 207.74), p<0.001) in the proportion of outlets providing any kcal labelling at point-of-choice post implementation. Only 15% of outlets met all labelling compliance criteria post implementation, with a minority of outlets not presenting labelling in a clear (33%) or legible (29%) way.

CONCLUSION

The number of large businesses in the OHFS providing kcal labelling increased following the implementation of mandatory labelling regulations. However, around one-fifth of eligible outlets sampled were not providing kcal labelling 4-8 months after the regulations came into force, and the majority of businesses only partially complied with government guidance. More effective enforcement may be required to further improve kcal labelling practices in the OHFS in England.

PREREGISTRATION

Study protocol and analysis strategy preregistered on Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/pfnm6/).

Do community-based singing interventions have an impact on people living with dementia and their carers? A mixed-methods study protocol

INTRODUCTION

Psychosocial interventions have been shown to improve mood, relieve stress and improve quality of life for people living with dementia (PwD). To date, most evaluations of singing interventions have focused on the benefits for PwD and not their carers. This research aims to evaluate the benefits of dementia singing groups for both PwD and their carers.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

This 2-year project will observe the impact of two different singing intervention services, one combining singing alongside dance and another that includes a sociable lunch. This project will aim to recruit a total of n=150 PwD and n=150 carers across the two singing interventions. Using a mixed-methods approach, the influence of both services will be analysed via the following outcome measures: quality of life, neuropsychiatric symptoms, social isolation, loneliness, cognition, carer burden and depressive symptoms in PwD and their carers using a prestudy/poststudy design. Regression models will be used to analyse the data with time (pre/post) as the exposure variable. Semistructured interviews will be conducted with a subset of people (n=40) to further investigate the impact of singing services with a specific focus on the acceptability of the interventions, barriers to access and prolonged engagement and potential for remote delivery. Interview data will be analysed using Braun and Clarke's reflexive thematic analysis, and public advisers will assist with coding the transcripts. A social return on investment analysis will be conducted to determine the social impact of the services.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

This project has received ethical approval from the University of Liverpool's Ethics Committee (App ref: 12374) and Lancaster University's Ethics Committee (App ref: 3442). All participants will provide informed consent to participate. Results will be presented at national and international conferences, published in scientific journals and publicly disseminated to key stakeholders.

A multi-country comparison of jurisdictions with and without mandatory nutrition labelling policies in restaurants: analysis of behaviours associated with menu labelling in the 2019 International Food Policy Study

OBJECTIVE

To examine differences in noticing and use of nutrition information comparing jurisdictions with and without mandatory menu labelling policies and examine differences among sociodemographic groups.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional data from the International Food Policy Study (IFPS) online survey.

SETTING

IFPS participants from Australia, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom and USA in 2019.

PARTICIPANTS

Adults aged 18-99; n 19 393.

RESULTS

Participants in jurisdictions with mandatory policies were significantly more likely to notice and use nutrition information, order something different, eat less of their order and change restaurants compared to jurisdictions without policies. For noticed nutrition information, the differences between policy groups were greatest comparing older to younger age groups and comparing high education (difference of 10·7 %, 95 % CI 8·9, 12·6) to low education (difference of 4·1 %, 95 % CI 1·8, 6·3). For used nutrition information, differences were greatest comparing high education (difference of 4·9 %, 95 % CI 3·5, 6·4) to low education (difference of 1·8 %, 95 % CI 0·2, 3·5). Mandatory labelling was associated with an increase in ordering something different among the majority ethnicity group and a decrease among the minority ethnicity group. For changed restaurant visited, differences were greater for medium and high education compared to low education, and differences were greater for higher compared to lower income adequacy.

CONCLUSIONS

Participants living in jurisdictions with mandatory nutrition information in restaurants were more likely to report noticing and using nutrition information, as well as greater efforts to modify their consumption. However, the magnitudes of these differences were relatively small.

Acceptability and perceived harm of calorie labeling and other obesity policies: A cross-sectional survey study of UK adults with eating disorders and other mental health conditions

OBJECTIVE

We assessed perceptions of recently proposed UK obesity policies (mandatory calorie labeling, banning of advertisements of unhealthy food and drinks online and before 9 pm on TV, and banning "buy one get one free" deals for unhealthy food and drinks) in people with an eating disorder (ED) and other mental health conditions.

METHOD

A total of 1273 participants with a self-reported lifetime mental health condition (N = 583 with an ED) completed an online survey in September-November 2022. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine support for and potential adverse effects of policies in participants with and without an ED. A qualitative analysis of the potential effects of the policy on current ED symptoms was also conducted to better understand how and why policies may be damaging or beneficial.

RESULTS

Participants with an ED had a lower level of support for the implementation of the calorie labeling policy compared to those without an ED (43% vs. 58%). Half of the participants with an ED (55%) reported that labeling may worsen their ED symptoms. Qualitative data indicated perceived potential harm (e.g., a gateway to relapse, negative effects on mood) and perceived benefits (e.g., feeling informed and reassured) of calorie labeling in participants with an ED. No differences in support or perceived harms of the other two policies were observed between participants with versus without an ED.

DISCUSSION

Future studies are warranted to explore the potential effects of calorie labeling and how to mitigate negative impacts on people with an ED.

PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE

This research is the first to assess the perceptions of UK obesity-related policies in people with an ED and other mental health conditions. Participants with an ED (vs. without) were more likely to disagree with the government implementing the calorie labeling policy. These findings highlight the potentially harmful effects of calorie labeling in people with an ED and the need for future research to understand how to mitigate negative impacts.

Assessing public perception and awareness of UK mandatory calorie labeling in the out-of-home sector: Using Twitter and Google trends data

Objectives

In 2021 the UK government announced a new obesity policy requiring large out-of-home food outlets to provide mandatory in-store calorie labeling on food and drink items. Public acceptability and engagement with obesity policies could influence the level of impact on wider public health particularly with population-level policies such as calorie labeling. This study aimed to examine public responses and awareness of the policy using social media (Twitter) comments and Google trends data.

Methods

This study examined responses to social media posts on Twitter (tweets) from the UK Department of Health and Social Care detailing the policy, implementation date and post-implementation information about the policy's enforcement. The sentiments of the tweets were coded and the number of likes and replies extracted. This study utilized google trends to examine public awareness of the policy by extracting weekly relative search volume for relevant phrases such as "calorie labeling."

Results

From the 276 replies/quote-tweet extracted, the majority expressed a negative sentiment toward the policy (N = 197/71.4%). There were fewer tweets expressing a positive sentiment (N = 25/8.7%) and a neutral/no sentiment (N = 54/19.6%). There was no difference in the number of "likes" or retweets between tweets expressing positive or negative sentiments. Five themes were identified expressing negative sentiments (most common being negative impacts on eating disorders). Google trends data revealed increased searches for "calorie labels/labeling" during the week of the policy enforcement compared to previous weeks in the last 5 years but no significant differences in searches for specific menu calorie labeling.

Conclusions

This analysis revealed negative sentiment toward and increased searching of calorie labeling information during the announcement and implementation of the 2021 mandatory calorie labeling policy in England. A greater understanding of public responses to calorie labeling policies may help tailor future policies and public communication strategies.

Kilocalorie labelling in the out-of-home sector: an observational study of business practices and consumer behaviour prior to implementation of the mandatory calorie labelling policy in England, 2022

BACKGROUND

Regulations mandating kilocalorie (kcal) labelling for large businesses in the out-of-home food sector (OHFS) came into force on 6th April 2022 as a policy to reduce obesity in England. To provide indicators of potential reach and impact, kcal labelling practices were studied in the OHFS, and customer purchasing and consumption behaviours prior to implementation of the mandatory kcal labelling policy in England.

METHODS

From August-December 2021, large OHFS businesses subject to the kcal labelling regulations were visited prior to regulations coming into force on 6th April 2022. 3308 customers were recruited from 330 outlets and collected survey information on the number of kcal purchased and consumed by customers, customers' knowledge of the kcal content of their purchases, and customers noticing and use of kcal labelling. In a subset of 117 outlets, data was collected on nine recommended kcal labelling practices.

RESULTS

The average number of kcals purchased (1013 kcal, SD = 632 kcal) was high with 69% of purchases exceeding the recommendation of a maximum of 600 kcal per meal. Participants underestimated the energy content of their purchased meals by on average 253 kcal (SD = 644 kcals). In outlets providing kcal labelling in which customer survey data was collected, a minority of customers reported noticing (21%) or using (20%) kcal labelling. Out of the 117 outlets assessed for kcal labelling practices, 24 (21%) provided any in-store kcal labelling. None of the outlets met all nine aspects of recommended labelling practices.

CONCLUSIONS

Prior to implementation of 2022 kcal labelling policy, the majority of sampled OHFS large business outlets in England did not provide kcal labelling. Few customers noticed or used the labels and on average customers purchased and consumed substantially more energy than recommended in public health guidelines. The findings suggest that reliance on voluntary action for kcal labelling implementation failed to produce widespread, consistent, and adequate kcal labelling practices.

Eye Movement Latency Coefficient of Variation as a Predictor of Cognitive Impairment: An Eye Tracking Study of Cognitive Impairment

Studies demonstrated impairment in the control of saccadic eye movements in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) when conducting the pro-saccade and antisaccade tasks. Research showed that changes in the pro and antisaccade latencies may be particularly sensitive to dementia and general executive functioning. These tasks show potential for diagnostic use, as they provide a rich set of potential eye tracking markers. One such marker, the coefficient of variation (CV), is so far overlooked. For biological markers to be reliable, they must be able to detect abnormalities in preclinical stages. MCI is often viewed as a predecessor to AD, with certain classifications of MCI more likely than others to progress to AD. The current study examined the potential of CV scores on pro and antisaccade tasks to distinguish participants with AD, amnestic MCI (aMCI), non-amnesiac MCI (naMCI), and older controls. The analyses revealed no significant differences in CV scores across the groups using the pro or antisaccade task. Antisaccade mean latencies were able to distinguish participants with AD and the MCI subgroups. Future research is needed on CV measures and attentional fluctuations in AD and MCI individuals to fully assess this measure's potential to robustly distinguish clinical groups with high sensitivity and specificity.

Socioeconomic position and the effect of energy labelling on consumer behaviour: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

There are well documented socioeconomic disparities in diet quality and obesity. Menu energy labelling is a public health policy designed to improve diet and reduce obesity. However, it is unclear whether the impact energy labelling has on consumer behaviour is socially equitable or differs based on socioeconomic position (SEP).

METHODS

Systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental (between-subjects) and pre-post implementation field studies examining the impact of menu energy labelling on energy content of food and/or drink selections in higher vs. lower SEP groups.

RESULTS

Seventeen studies were eligible for inclusion. Meta-analyses of 13 experimental studies that predominantly examined hypothetical food and drink choices showed that energy labelling tended to be associated with a small reduction in energy content of selections that did not differ based on participant SEP (X2(1) = 0.26, p = .610). Effect estimates for higher SEP SMD = 0.067 [95% CI: -0.092 to 0.226] and lower SEP SMD = 0.115 [95% CI: -0.006 to 0.237] were similar. A meta-analysis of 3 pre-post implementation studies of energy labelling in the real world showed that the effect energy labelling had on consumer behaviour did not significantly differ based on SEP (X2(1) = 0.22, p = .636). In higher SEP the effect was SMD = 0.032 [95% CI: -0.053 to 0.117] and in lower SEP the effect was SMD = -0.005 [95% CI: -0.051 to 0.041].

CONCLUSIONS

Overall there was no convincing evidence that the effect energy labelling has on consumer behaviour significantly differs based on SEP. Further research examining multiple indicators of SEP and quantifying the long-term effects of energy labelling on consumer behaviour in real-world settings is now required.

REVIEW REGISTRATION

Registered on PROSPERO (CRD42022312532) and OSF ( https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/W7RDB ).

The Potential of Naturalistic Eye Movement Tasks in the Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease: A Review

Extensive research has demonstrated that eye-tracking tasks can effectively indicate cognitive impairment. For example, lab-based eye-tracking tasks, such as the antisaccade task, have robustly distinguished between people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and healthy older adults. Due to the neurodegeneration associated with AD, people with AD often display extended saccade latencies and increased error rates on eye-tracking tasks. Although the effectiveness of using eye tracking to identify cognitive impairment appears promising, research considering the utility of eye tracking during naturalistic tasks, such as reading, in identifying cognitive impairment is limited. The current review identified 39 articles assessing eye-tracking distinctions between people with AD, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and healthy controls when completing naturalistic task (reading, real-life simulations, static image search) or a goal-directed task involving naturalistic stimuli. The results revealed that naturalistic tasks show promising biomarkers and distinctions between healthy older adults and AD participants, and therefore show potential to be used for diagnostic and monitoring purposes. However, only twelve articles included MCI participants and assessed the sensitivity of measures to detect cognitive impairment in preclinical stages. In addition, the review revealed inconsistencies within the literature, particularly when assessing reading tasks. We urge researchers to expand on the current literature in this area and strive to assess the robustness and sensitivity of eye-tracking measures in both AD and MCI populations on naturalistic tasks.

Active visual inhibition is preserved in the presence of a distracter: A cross-cultural, ageing and dementia study

The current study investigated a novel visual distracter task as a potential diagnostic marker for the detection of cognitive impairment and the extent to which this compares in healthy ageing across two cultures. The Inhibition of a Recent Distracter Effect (IRD) refers to the inhibition of a saccadic eye movement towards a target that is presented at the location of a previous distracter. Two studies compared the IRD across a large cross-cultural sample comprising of young (N = 75), old European participants (N = 119), old south Asian participants (N = 83), participants with Dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (N = 65) and Mild cognitive impairment (N = 91). Significantly longer saccadic reaction times on the target to distracter trials, in comparison to the target to target trials were evident in all groups and age cohorts. Importantly, the IRD was also preserved in participants with Alzheimer's Disease and mild cognitive impairment demonstrating that the IRD is robust across cultures, age groups and clinical populations. Eye-tracking is increasingly used as a dual diagnostic and experimental probe for the investigation of cognitive control in Alzheimer's disease. As a promising methodology for the early diagnosis of dementia, it is important to understand the cognitive operations in relation to eye-tracking that are well preserved as well as those that are abnormal. Paradigms should also be validated across ethnicity/culture, clinical groups and age cohorts.

The Effects of Previous Error and Success in Alzheimer's Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment

This work investigated in Alzheimer’s disease dementia (AD), whether the probability of making an error on a task (or a correct response) was influenced by the outcome of the previous trials. We used the antisaccade task (AST) as a model task given the emerging consensus that it provides a promising sensitive and early biological test of cognitive impairment in AD. It can be employed equally well in healthy young and old adults, and in clinical populations. This study examined eye-movements in a sample of 202 participants (42 with dementia due to AD; 65 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI); 95 control participants). The findings revealed an overall increase in the frequency of AST errors in AD and MCI compared to the control group, as predicted. The errors on the current trial increased in proportion to the number of consecutive errors on the previous trials. Interestingly, the probability of errors was reduced on the trials that followed a previously corrected error, compared to the trials where the error remained uncorrected, revealing a level of adaptive control in participants with MCI or AD dementia. There was an earlier peak in the AST distribution of the saccadic reaction times for the inhibitory errors in comparison to the correct saccades. These findings revealed that the inhibitory errors of the past have a negative effect on the future performance of healthy adults as well as people with a neurodegenerative cognitive impairment.