There was an article in our local newspaper this morning about restaurants posting CALORIE COUNTS on their menus. Apparently, there is a requirement in the recently passed health care bill that will make any restaurant with 20 or more locations have to post calorie counts of food and drink items on menus, and men-boards (even at the drive-through) right next to the food/drink item. California, Seattle, and New York City already have calorie count posting laws. The article mentioned that it will probably take a year for the FDA to write up the new rules for this requirement. So potentially we could be seeing calorie counts at our favorite restaurants by mid or end 2011. The whole thought behind posting calorie counts is so that people are really SEEING and processing the actual calories of the food item that they are ordering. Potentially, having this calorie count in your face may make you think twice about ordering high calorie menu items, and choosing a healthier, low calorie, option instead. My concern is another big topic in health news lately - the accuracy and reliability of those calorie counts...hmmm.
Here's the full story from Yahoo! News
1 comment:
Yes, apart from the accuracy issue, this is great news! I recently went to a chain restaurant and made what I thought was the best choice and after checking the website when I returned home...I was sooooo wrong. I think ingredients wise I made a good choice, but portion size is the problem. It will be great to have the calories more readily available.
Post a Comment