B.C. residents don’t ponder calories when eating out: poll

Very few British Columbians bother to check the nutritional value of food while eating out although 75 per cent believe it should be mandatory to display calories on the menu.

A recent Research Co. poll found only 13 per cent paid any attention to the nutritional content when dining out, and only 11 per cent when ordering food delivery.

However, almost a third of B.C. residents "frequently" check the labels when they are in the grocery store to look at the number of calories in a product.

When in the supermarket 32 per cent check for salt content, and 29 per cent for fat. However, when in a restaurant only 14 per cent check for salt, and 13 per cent for fat.

READ MORE: Food service and drinking places sales rose 3 per cent in May: StatCan

In Ontario, it is mandatory to display calories on a menu and in 2018 three-quarters of B.C. residents favoured adopting this regulation.

"British Columbians appear to be affected by the lack of standards when it comes to nutritional information in restaurants," Research Co. president Mario Canseco, said in a media release issued, July 26. "Customers do not have the same information to make a decision that they currently have at the grocery store."

The poll also found that 45 per cent of B.C. residents use some sort of fitness tracker to measure the amount of exercise and/or calorie consumption.

In the Southern Interior, 46 per cent used a fitness tracker, while the gadgets are most popular in Metro Vancouver with 49 per cent of those surveyed saying they use one.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.