Traffic Light System Approach to Identifying Healthy Choices in RetailDining Facilities at a Historically Black University

Abstract

Application of a simple menu labelling system may appeal to decision-making skills of college students, thereby improving their food choices and thus promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to analyse menus on a Historically Black University campus to create a handout of healthy menu options for students. Nutritional information from the six retail-dining facilities were colored coded based on a percentage of energy from total fat (green <30%; amber 30-40%; red <40%). Results showed less than 25% of menu items were green, primarily condiments, resulting in increasing the criteria to <35% kcal total fat for purposes of the handout. The application of a simplified traffic light system to analyse the menus from the six-retail dining facilities demonstrated that students have less variety and choices when it comes to the selection of healthful menu items. The handout will be used for future studies. ISSN 2641-4295 Research Article Citation: Heather L Colleran, Alexis Sharkey, Roberta Claro da Silva, et al. Traffic Light System Approach to Identifying Healthy Choices in Retail-Dining Facilities at a Historically Black University. Food Sci Nutr Res. 2019; 2(1): 1-5.