Associations between out of home food sector outlet menu healthiness scores, menu characteristics and energy consumed by customers in England during 2021–2022

Finlay, A, Huang, Y, Adams, J, Jones, A ORCID: 0000-0001-5951-889X, Evans, R and Robinson, E (2025) Associations between out of home food sector outlet menu healthiness scores, menu characteristics and energy consumed by customers in England during 2021–2022. Appetite, 219. p. 108424. ISSN 0195-6663

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Abstract

Greater consumption of food prepared out of the home (OOH) is associated with higher energy intake. Strategies are needed to make eating OOH food less harmful to health. Identifying menu characteristics associated with higher energy consumption could aid characterisation of OOH outlets by their relative healthiness and inform future policy intervention in the OOH food sector. This study aimed to identify whether outlet healthiness rating tools and food menu characteristics can explain variance in energy consumed during OOH food eating occasions. Customers (N = 3718) were asked to recall their food orders upon exiting a range of OOH outlets across four local authorities in England during 2021 and 2022. For each outlet, universal health rating scores were calculated based on select menu characteristics and deep learning healthiness scores were calculated based on outlet name. Random forest models and robust linear regression models clustered by outlet were used to identify whether outlet healthiness scores and individual menu characteristics were associated with kcal consumed. Energy consumed during OOH outlet visits was negatively associated with universal health rating scores (−28.3; 95 % CI -44.8 to −11.8; p = .003) but not associated with deep learning scores. Menu characteristics with the greatest importance and therefore contributing the most to predictive accuracy for energy consumed were the percent of savoury main menu items over 600 kcal and 1345 kcal, the number of desserts, the number of unique vegetables, and the percent of drinks over 100 kcal. Menu characteristics accounted for 29% of variance in energy consumed by customers. Universal health rating scores may be a useful tool to characterise the healthiness of OOH outlets in England. Investigating the potential impact of OOH outlet health ratings on consumer and business behaviour is warranted.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Nutrition & Dietetics
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology T Technology > TX Home economics > TX341 Nutrition. Foods and food supply
Divisions:	Psychology (from Sep 2019)
Publisher:	Elsevier BV
Date of acceptance:	14 December 2025
Date of first compliant Open Access:	19 December 2025
Date Deposited:	19 Dec 2025 16:38
Last Modified:	19 Dec 2025 16:38
DOI or ID number:	10.1016/j.appet.2025.108424
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/27733

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