Effects of labelling food with physical activity calorie equivalents (PACE)

Research was conducted in the UK to study the effect of labelling food wih the amount of physical activity required to brun off the calories.

Research was conducted in the UK to study the effect of labelling food wih the amount of physical activity required to burn off the calories.

In an effort to encourage healthier food choices, PACE food labelling aims to provide the public with information on the amount of physical activity needed to burn off the calories of a food/drink product, for example, “calories in this pizza requires 45min of running to burn off’. Researchers compared the PACE food labelling method with “any other type of food labelling” or “no labelling”.

The study showed:

On average, people both chose and consumed significantly less calories when PACE labelling was displayed on the food items or menu, compared with other types of labelling or no labelling.
PACE labelling reduced the likelihood of people buying sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) by 50%, compared with situations where no food information was given.

PACE food labelling may potentially lower the amount of calories selected from menus and consumed by the public compared to other types of food labelling or no labelling.

Deirdre Brennan