Chain Restaurants to Post Calories on Menus
We all know the guy who goes to McDonald's, orders a number seven with Diet Coke, plus a Big Mac and hot apple pie on the side.
Now, maybe he'd rethink that order if he knew the INSANE amount of calories he was stuffing down his throat. That's the idea at least.
Last week, major U.S. chain restaurants announced plans to disclose calorie count on their menus.
Restaurants with 20 or more locations will post the number of calories per food item on their menu, and make available other nutrition information such as sugar, salt and cholesterol. The move is backed by restaurants like Red Lobster and Olive Garden chains.
The United States Congress may actually attach the menu labeling law to health reform legislation, to be discussed in the upcoming weeks. Surprisingly, the initiative is supported by both Republican and Democratic senators, saying it will help consumers make more informed decisions about their food.
This might be a waste of ink. A Twinkie has all its nutrition facts printed right there on the package, but people still eat it! Then again, I guess it can't hurt.
Especially since other calorie-on-menus laws have actually worked. In New York City, a survey of 100 women revealed 55% of women order less now that they know what's in their food.
To get calories on your state's menus, check out: Please Support Menu Labeling.
Via Reuters.
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I know some disagree with this but I think it is a good thing. There are soooooooooooo many people that have no clue about what they are eating. Yes, some may go ahead & eat it anyway.. maybe they planned for it.. BUT, many more are clueless to the calories & fat content. I think just knowing that you are consuming only ONE thing that has 500-600 calories in it may stop some and even better may make them think twice about the way they eat OR they may start to make small changes along the way. Sounds good to me!
ReplyI don't know. Do we really have to make everybody neurotic about food and calorie counting? The higher calorie foods would just look more forbidden and appealing. The lower calorie foods would just be eaten in much bigger quantity. I doubt this would help our waistlines one bit.
ReplyBut that's the thing, if you make something yourself, you can have an intuitive feel for what is in it and how much you feel comfortable eating. You can't do that if something is made in a kitchen where you cannot see what goes on. And for the most part, the lower calorie foods are things like salads and vegetable dishes. There's only so much you can eat until you literally cannot eat anything else.
ReplyPerception vs reality is a big issue here. Just like some people can mindlessly eat high calorie food and not be aware of the calorie intake, other people can be so skidish they think a few french fries will ruin their whole day.
No matter where someone is on that spectrum, I think nutrition info on the menues and fast food wrapers is going to promote the right kind of knowledge about food. I hope it also relieves some of the fear, anxiety, and misconceptions about that lead to an unhealthy relationship with food. When you know that an original glazed Krispy Kreme donut has roughly the same calories a Lean Cuisine entree, knowledge is power.
ReplyIf it helps people who want to watch their calorie intake to 'stop and think' before they order, then that is great! The more information we have, the better decisions we can make. Not everyone will read it or care, but it may help some who are interested in what they eat.
ReplyYaY! I hate how up until now you have to go online to check whats in the food you may or may not be going to and and possibly eat later that day. What a pathetic hassel! This will be wonderfl for those of us who are concious!
ReplyThere are always going to be people who simply don't care about how many calories are in the food they eat and those people will look at calorie counts on menus and go ahead and order the Bloomin' Onion anyway. Then there are the people that think "Hey, it's a salad, it can't be all that bad" when in reality, the cheese and dressing and bacon and croutons make the salad a 2000 calorie entree. If the posted calorie counts help those people make some better choices, then that's great.
ReplyI think it is good. When I was obese, and eating fast food at least once a day, I think I might have at least taken a second to think about whether or not I really wanted that 900 calorie hamburger. These days, I recommend to my class participants that they plan ahead by going on line to check out nutritional values. With those values posted in plain sight that step won't be necessary when trying to make healthy choices. By the way, I rarely, if ever, eat fast food anymore!
ReplyAnother reason I think this is good is that we often have no idea what hidden calories are in the food we eat in a restaurant. When I heard the guy who wrote The End of Overeating on NPR, he gave an example of a grilled chicken meal at a national chain. It sounded like a relatively healthy entree, but in reality had been marinated in a mixture of high fat and sugar, and the marination process for that restaurant ensured much of that fat and sugar was absorbed into the chicken. If I get stuck eating out, I would choose an entree like that. I would appreciate knowing that it was actually just as unhealthy as the chicken smothered in cream sauce so I could order a plain old salad instead.
ReplyI think this is a simple but great change. Showing item calories on a menu encourages healthy eating habits. If you don't want to acknowledge the calories, that's fine, but if you would like to know... its right there in front of you! I think this just spreads awareness regarding nutrition in a straight-forward way.
ReplyNutrition information is very important to some (like those of us who read this blog, probably!) and ignored by others. It'll be the same way with calorie information on menus!
ReplyThere's a lot of focus on how this will change the way customers behave, but I think this may also effect how the restaurants prepare their food. Just like prices tend to be $1.99 rather than $2.00, there may be a goal to get calories just a bit lower so they can post at least a slightly smaller number. Maybe the fast food places will have more incentive to prepare items just a bit healthier, so they can make those numbers go just a bit lower. Every bit helps.
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