If you are like me, you fool yourself sometimes into thinking that sandwich you bought for lunch or that muffin you eat on the go for breakfast is not all that bad for you. Chances are, you are wrong. However, if you had better information about the calories you were ingesting, you might choose a lighter alternative, I think.
Health Official in New York City thought so, too.
“Since last May, chain restaurants in the city have been required to list the number of calories for every item on their menus. According to a recent survey, more than 80 percent of those who saw the calorie count were “surprised,” even shocked, that an innocent-looking bran muffin could contain 470 calories and a full-fledged Big Mac attack (with soda and fries, of course) more than 1,200.”
Sounds like a great idea, right? Well, not to everyone.
“Some restaurants are suing to overturn the requirement. Many restaurants also back the LEAN Act, recently introduced in Congress. This deceptively named bill would pre-empt New York’s law, and a similar law in California, allowing restaurants to tuck calorie information at the back of the menu or in a separate brochure.”
I think this is a case of an opportunity in disguise. Smart restaurants will take advantage of such requirements to market new products to clients that help them with calories, rather than try and fool them. Everyone will be better off.
For more information, see the Editorial – 2,000 Is Really Enough in the NYTimes.com
Smart People I Know 
With America’s growing health and obesity problems, it is important that more consumers have access to more detailed nutrition information, especially when dining out, in an easy and convenient way.
Now we have the chance to provide consumers across the country exactly what they are looking for and need. There is a bill before Congress, the LEAN Act (Labeling Education and Nutrition) that will do just that. It is modeled after the federal Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) that provides consumers nutrition information on packaged food and beverages.
But calories are just part of the information necessary to make smart food choices. Consumers should know about a broad range of nutrition information, including sodium, fat, cholesterol, carbohydrates and protein as well as calories.
That is why the LEAN Act will require that restaurants have detailed nutrition information—such as calories, transfats, saturated fat, sodium, cholesterol, carbohydrates, sugars, and protein—available in writing in the restaurant. Using one national standard will help consumers get the same information wherever they happen to dine across the country. It will also give restaurants the flexibility to present written nutrition information in an easy and convenient manner that best meets the individual needs of their diners.
Passing the LEAN Act to establish a uniform national nutrition standard for chain food service establishments that also provides the flexibility to accommodate their inherently different needs is practical and fair. And it is the one way to make sure that more consumers get more nutrition information no matter where they dine.
Now we need Congress to pass the LEAN Act. And we need your help to get it done.
Please visit http://www.nationalnutrionstandards.com to get more information and help us bring more nutrition information to everyone across the country.
CORRECTION TO THE LINK IN MY PREVIOUS COMMENT:
Please visit http://www.nationalnutritionstandards.com to get more information and help us bring more nutrition information to everyone across the country.
Thanks, Sheila! I agree with you: it is important that more consumers have access to more detailed nutrition information, especially when dining out, in an easy and convenient way.
I would hope this means restaurants have this information prominently displayed, just like packaged foods have to have in grocery stores. This should be especially easy for places like Starbucks or McDonalds. I think they need to do more than just have a piece of paper with this information tucked behind the counter somewhere.
People are responsible for what they eat: but food establishments should be clear about what they are serving people.
That’s my viewpoint. I think everyone can agree that addressing the health and obesity challenges is important.