Published in the open access journal BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health, an analysis of survey responses found that despite calorie labelling legislation, consumers continue to prioritise taste and price when ordering takeaways.
As a result of the limited impact of calorie labelling on driving healthier food choices, the researchers have called for additional strategies to be implemented.
The analysis drew on the responses of a consumer behaviour panel of 1,040 adult takeaway consumers in England to a survey covering takeaway frequency, knowledge of recommended calorie content of a meal, awareness of calorie labelling, price and taste.
Of the respondents, 68% were women and over half were aged between 35 and 55, while 35% were overweight and 28% were living with obesity.
Around a quarter of respondents reported ordering a takeaway at least weekly, and a further 41% had takeaways every two to four weeks. Around a third ordered a takeaway less than once a month.
The analysis of the responses found that taste was the most important consideration for takeaways, followed by price, delivery time and portion size. For home-cooked meals, taste and price were also the principal drivers, followed by portion size, preparation time and convenience.
Healthiness was a more important consideration for home-cooked meals, where more than half of the respondents scored this as important, compared with 22% for takeaways.
“Our findings highlight the complexity of efforts to improve the healthiness of takeaway foods,” the researchers said.
“Calorie labelling was widely unnoticed and influenced only a minority of choices.
“More real-world evaluations are needed from different contexts and populations to understand motivations of takeaway consumption and the effectiveness of calorie labels in this setting, including in conjunction with other interventions.
“While calorie labelling may affect only a minority, it can be part of a broader strategy to address obesity and poor diets. However, its potential to improve diets without exacerbating existing health inequities remains uncertain.”