The Claim
Among restaurant menu items, 36% met sugar reduction targets, compared to 61% for calorie reduction targets and 58% for salt reduction targets, indicating that sugar reformulation is significantly more challenging than calorie or salt reduction in restaurant menus.
What the research says
Supports is higher
Support is ahead, but a single strong opposing study can change this.
These are independent scores, not a percentage. Higher-grade studies count more, so a single strong opposing study can outweigh several weaker ones.
In restaurant menus, fewer items met targets for reducing sugar than for reducing calories or salt, showing that lowering sugar content is harder to achieve than lowering calories or salt.
See the scientific wording
Sugar reduction targets were met by only 36% of menu items, compared to 61% for calories and 58% for salt, suggesting that sugar reformulation is significantly more challenging than reducing calories or salt in restaurant menus.
Sugar provides sweetness, texture, and stability in food, so removing it makes food taste bland, feel dry or gritty, and spoil faster, making it hard to replace without compromising what people expect in restaurant meals.
What the research says
1 studyThe study found that only 36% of restaurant menu items met sugar reduction goals, while over half met goals for calories and salt — showing it’s much harder for restaurants to cut sugar than the other two.
Score breakdown, mechanism chain, raw evidence, ideal studies needed & 1 supporting studies
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.