Tufts University study finds calorie counts on menus reducing cancer deaths

BOSTON - In 2018, the Affordable Care Act mandated chain restaurants to list calorie counts for each item on their menu in an attempt to get Americans to reduce their calorie intake. And a new study from Tufts University suggests the strategy is working.

Adults are consuming, on average, 24 fewer calories in restaurants each day, which could prevent a least 28,000 obesity-related cancer deaths and save almost $3 billion in healthcare costs.

Obesity is a known risk factor for at least 13 types of cancers including liver, kidney, breast, and pancreatic cancer, and American adults get about 20% of their daily calories from restaurants. Listing calorie counts has also been associated with a reduction in cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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