Fast food consumers should have access to the kilojoule content in both a cheeseburger and a cheeseburger meal, the Cancer Council says.
The council has released a study of almost 200 menu boards at fast food outlets around the country.
It found while many had adopted kilojoule counts for menu boards they were failing to display their full menus and the associated kilojoule content.
The researchers found only 3 per cent of outlets listed energy information for their entire product range.
Co-author Clare Hughes from the Cancer Council NSW said it showed many retailers were still using their menu boards for marketing purposes such as popular items and latest offers.
“So you might not know how many kilojoules were in a cheeseburger but you’d certainly be able to find out how many kilojoules in a cheeseburger meal,” she said.
“It wasn’t encouraging people to choose and buy less food.”
Retailers have hit back, saying it is difficult when laws vary from state to state.
The study looked at 197 outlets of McDonalds, KFC, Hungry Jacks, Subway and Red Rooster outlets across five states.
It was initiated after mandatory labelling laws were introduced for major fast food retailers in NSW in 2012, with the ACT and South Australia also following suit.
Ms Hughes said the Cancer Council wanted the rest of the country to follow NSW’s lead.
While many outlets had adopted the laws “in theory”, she said, the study showed they had not adopted “in spirit”.
Ms Hughes said a recent NSW study found consumers who had access to labelling ate, on average, 500 kilojoules less.
“We know if more information is available in fast food restaurants, people are more likely to make healthier food choices,” she said.
“We know energy information is working, we just need it to appear on all items available for purchase.”
Ms Hughes said kilojoule content was linked to weight gain and ultimately cancer.
“So cancers of the bowel, post-menopausal breast cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, endometrial, pancreatic and oesophageal cancer,” she said.
“Our real interest is making sure people can make healthier choices.”