Only 43% of popular chain restaurants meet nutrition goals: study

Researchers found that only 43% of dishes on offer at the UK’s 21 highest-grossing restaurant chains met all their voluntary targets for sugar, salt, and calorie reduction, as set by the UK Government.

The targets for manufacturers, retailers, and restaurants were introduced from 2016 to reduce sugar, salt, and calorie content as foods high in energy, saturated fat, free sugars, and salt have been linked with an increased risk of obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases.

Sugar targets were intended to be met by 2020, the salt targets by 2024, and the calorie targets by 2025.

Few studies have assessed the nutritional quality of foods in the restaurant sector, despite an increasing percentage of weekly food intake coming from takeout or restaurant meals.

For the new study, researchers from the University of Oxford gathered nutritional information from the 21 highest-grossing restaurant chains in the UK in 2024, using PDF menus or nutritional information on restaurant websites.

The research team calculated the proportion of menu items from each restaurant and food subcategory that met the nutritional targets.

Nine of the 21 restaurants had more than half of their menu items meeting all applicable targets.

Menu items from Papa John’s were the lowest adhering to the calorie (35%) and salt (8%) targets.

Menu items from Burger King, KFC, Nando’s, and Vintage Inns had zero adherence to the sugar targets, according to the findings published in the journal PLOS Medicine.

Study lead author Alice O’Hagan, from the University of Oxford, said: "Our findings demonstrate that there was low adherence to the UK Government’s sugar, salt, and calorie reduction targets in 2024.

“This is consistent with other research that finds limited effectiveness of voluntary regulation on reformulation, suggesting that mandatory regulation may be a more effective approach to improving the nutritional quality of out-of-home food.

"Food within the same subcategory varied in adherence to the targets, with salads and breakfast items having the highest overall adherence, and desserts and pizzas the lowest.

"However, there were examples of companies across all subcategories performing well, indicating that performance is not constrained by the type of cuisine being offered.“

O’Hagan, a doctor of philosophy working within Oxford's Sustainable Healthy Food Group (SHFG), added: “Our study shows that the UK Government’s voluntary sugar, salt, and calorie reduction targets were not being met consistently.

"Only 43% of menu items met all of the targets they were eligible for, and adherence to the targets varied widely between restaurants and food categories, showing that healthier menus are achievable but are not yet the norm.

“Interestingly, restaurants with similar menu styles performed quite differently in meeting the targets.

"This shows the nutritional quality of menus is not fixed by cuisine type, making the shift towards healthier menus a more attainable goal for food companies.”

Study co-author Dr. Lauren Bandy said: “Voluntary targets alone are not delivering consistent improvements in the salt, sugar or calorie content of food items on offer in UK restaurants."

Bandy, senior researcher in food policy and population health at Oxford, added: "Our findings highlight the potential value of stricter regulation in the out-of-home sector, and show that improving transparency and accountability of individual food companies will be key in supporting healthier food provision for the UK population.”