Kilojoules on the fast food menu helped reduce body weight. Reading the information about the energy supply from a given meal allowed to reduce the daily supply of kJ and thus contributed to weight loss.
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Energy in the diet
In Poland, we most often use the value of energy given in kilocalories (kcal). Often, however, on the nutritional value of products, you can find information about the content of kilojoules (kJ). This number is greater than the number of calories. This is due to the simple fact that 1 kcal = 4,184 kJ. Due to our habits, we would certainly be scared at first glance by the information that during the day we ate 8000 kJ, when we are used to eating about 1900 kcal. Research by scientists from the University of Sydney shows that providing information about kilojoules with fast food meals saved an average of about 960 kJ (about 230 kcal) per day compared to people who did not pay attention to the nutritional value. If they were carried out in our conditions, perhaps the effect would be even greater?
Students under observation
During 10 weeks of research, scientists in collaboration with a fast food restaurant on the University of Sydney campus posted information about the kilojoules of energy in fast food next to fast food. Additionally, there was a campaign on better and healthier food choices. More than 710 students aged 19-24 year of life.
Many students were not aware of what kilojoules were, nor did they make use of the designation of kilojoules in their products. So we started the campaign with flyers, websites, interactive activities and calculators to raise their awareness.
Results
The lead author of the study, Rajshri Roy, presented the results of the observations at a Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA) National Conference). She indicated that students who used the knowledge from the nutrition campaign and paid attention to the nutritional value of the dishes, were thinner. Most often during the day they could save about 960 kJ of energy, which is the equivalent of, for example, a small portion of French fries. Daily reduction of energy supply by this amount for one year may result in a weight loss of about 9 kg. In addition, there was also an overall decline in sales of the most energetic products such as nachos and burgers. The decrease for hamburgers was 30 percent. The results show how important information is in promoting a healthy lifestyle and fighting obesity. The authors emphasize that it seems particularly important to introduce nutritional value of meals on campuses where young people spend a lot of time, which can have a significant impact on their food choices.
Main photo is from flickr.com
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