A recent study reveals that knowing the calorie content of foods might not help consumers make healthier decisions when eating out or shopping. The research, co-authored by Deidre Popovich from Texas Tech University and published in The Journal of Retailing, shows that calorie labeling can actually lead to confusion, making people second-guess their healthiness judgments.
Study Findings: Calorie Information Reduces Confidence
Across nine experiments involving over 2,000 participants, the researchers tested how calorie information influenced people’s evaluations of food. Participants were asked to rate the healthiness of foods, such as a salad (typically considered healthy) or a cheeseburger (generally seen as less healthy). When participants were not given calorie information, they correctly rated the healthier foods as significantly better. However, when calorie information was included, the ratings became more moderate, blurring the line between healthy and unhealthy options.
In one experiment, asking participants to estimate the calorie content of food items made them less confident about their ability to assess the healthiness of the foods. This drop in confidence led to more moderate evaluations of both healthy and unhealthy foods.
The Illusion of Calorie Fluency
The study suggests that people’s familiarity with calorie counts can create what the researchers call “the illusion of calorie fluency.” Because consumers are so often exposed to calorie information, they believe they know how to interpret it. However, the study found that this familiarity can backfire, making consumers less confident and leading to less accurate assessments of food healthiness.
When calorie information was available, people experienced what psychologists call “metacognitive uncertainty”—the feeling of “I thought I understood this, but now I’m not so sure.” This uncertainty discouraged extreme judgments and led to more moderate, and often less accurate, evaluations.
Implications for Public Health and Businesses
These findings have important implications for both public health and the food industry. Current public health policies assume that providing calorie information will encourage healthier eating by helping consumers make more informed choices. However, the research suggests that just providing calorie counts is not enough to drive healthier behavior—and may even result in consumers making less healthy decisions.
The authors suggest that while calorie labeling should not be removed, it needs additional context to be effective. One recommendation is to pair calorie information with other decision aids, such as a traffic light system or an overall nutrition score, which are used in some European countries. Another option could be to provide calorie information with clear reference points, explaining how much of a person’s recommended daily calories an item contains.
Moving Forward: How to Make Calorie Information More Useful
The study highlights a larger issue in health communication: Just because information is available does not mean it is useful. To help consumers make better choices, calorie information needs to be paired with clearer context and guidance.
Future research could explore how health apps, personalized nutrition tools, or AI-based food recommendations interact with calorie information. Do these tools help people feel more confident in their food choices, or do they only create the illusion of understanding without improving actual decision-making?
Ultimately, making calorie information more understandable and supportive of better decision-making could help individuals make more informed, healthier choices in their diets.
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