What if in every restaurant the calorie content was listed right beside the picture?

 In Japan the calories for every dish is right beside it! I wish that this was true for the U.S. It would help us all so much. How can we go about getting this in U.S eateries? Has anyone else seen this where they live? It would help me make smarter decisions while eating out. I'd love it if my college listed the calorie content. It would be SO high...

Would McDonalds lose customers? I don't eat there but if you do would you stop coming if you saw the calorie content as you were ordering?

First post on this account :3

I think I read somewhere that they recently mandated in NY that restaurants have to do it, and the restaurants are up in arms about it. I'm not sure if its everywhere in NY or just a few places. It would make a difference for me because I count calories, but for the average person that does not, I think they might be bothered by it at first, but would probably go back to eating the bad stuff. the funny thing is that in the article that I read, it stated that some of the so called healthy foods such as the salads actually have higher calorie content than the so-called bad stuff. Go figure.

I know that the major chains have to do it in NYC, I don't know if it has effected sales though.  I still will eat something fatty/high cal when I go out even if I know it is because I usually have it as a treat, ie something that I would eat more than twice a month or that I have budgeted into my day.  I wish more places would make the information availble so if you have to eat out, you can make an informed decision.  I do check online before I go, but you can't always do that and not everywhere has the information availible anyway.

I can't wait to go to Japan.  I already love it's people and language (I'm studying my third semester of it) and to have it be even more convienent.  lol, I would love it if I knew what the calorie content of what I was eating was.  Actually, I'd rather have the whole nutritional chart easily accessible.  You have to jump through hoops to find this kind of stuff sometimes!  Rice-a-Roni is the only company that I have had the easiest time finding nutritional facts on and that is because they take pride in their food and it's ups and downs.  I don't care if the NY restaurants are up in arms.  We really need to clean up our serving sizes and dietary habits in general and forcing restaurants to tell us exactly how much we are eating is a big step.  I want to know.  I don't want to find out later and feel guilty about it because then I'll want to starve myself in guilt which will lead to me eating more later.  I can enjoy food without a million calories.

I really don't think McDonalds would lose so many customers because many are like my mom, they could know completely how many calories are in a certain dish and eat 7lbs of it without caring. 

O.O

All restaurants would be bankrupt. You can always get on your mobile phone and see what the calorie content is.

Mmm, I saw that when I visited Japan. It's helpful to keep track of what you're eating, but then again, sometimes you just want to go out for a meal and relax...

Actually, McDonalds here in Australia have the nutritional facts printed on the food wrappers...I assumed it was the same overseas too.

I wish they did. Honestly I think it should be mandatory. People who eat unhealthfuly because they don't know or care can just ignore it.

Here, restaurants may have them, but outside tests then find that it's actually inaccurate. I'd rather have to guess than have lies mollifying me. People should be given the chance to make informed, good decisions, or informed, bad decisions, not be in the dark. Going to relax at a restaurant with a high calorie meal is fine, but if you can't do that while knowing just how high calorie it is, maybe it'd be better to relax with ice cream at home and forget to read the box.

Right now, you can't just look things up online--plenty of places make the information difficult or impossible to find--like Red Robin--or make it largely inaccurate. Until I can get accurate information at a restaurant, I'll stay home, always. I eat out only extremely rarely, then order only meals that I am very familiar with and can guess the contents of in advance, like steamed or fried tofu.

The least the US needs is more government regulation of what used to be the free-market. As consumers, we should pressure the food industry to go about these changes on its own, and reward those companies that do by buying from them, rather than from those companies which refuse to reveal the nutritional values of their products. It shouldn't take a nanny state or a whiny lawsuit, simply boycott. Yes, yes, I know; I'll keep my pipe dreams to myself.

Original Post by antagonist_manifesto:

The least the US needs is more government regulation of what used to be the free-market. As consumers, we should pressure the food industry to go about these changes on its own, and reward those companies that do by buying from them, rather than from those companies which refuse to reveal the nutritional values of their products. It shouldn't take a nanny state or a whiny lawsuit, simply boycott. Yes, yes, I know; I'll keep my pipe dreams to myself.

I agree.

Right now the law in New York is only for New York City (I believe) and it's only applicable to restaurants with more than a certain number of chains.  Another reason why restaurants would be up in arms about it is because of the cost to reprint menus and test their food.  Many smaller, family-owned businesses probably can't afford to do so.

I think it would be better to just have the information available on-line.  That way, the information is available to those who want it and those who don't won't have to have it rubbed in their faces.

Also, just because a restaurant posts their foods' calorie counts on the menu doesn't mean it's guaranteed to be accurate.  A while back, there was an article about how many dishes contained more than a serving and thus, the nutritional information was off.

I was at TGIFriday not too long ago and I politely asked to view their nutrition facts of the foods and they refused, saying they didn’t have it. I thought places were required to show you nutrition facts if a customer inquired about them ??

Original Post by dinosaured:

Actually, McDonalds here in Australia have the nutritional facts printed on the food wrappers...I assumed it was the same overseas too.

It's the same in the U.S., at least on some of their foods. If I'm at McDonald's I usually get a salad, and it's not on there. But if you order a burger or chicken nuggets or something, there's a nutrition facts table on the packaging.

Original Post by acerria:

Original Post by dinosaured:

Actually, McDonalds here in Australia have the nutritional facts printed on the food wrappers...I assumed it was the same overseas too.

It's the same in the U.S., at least on some of their foods. If I'm at McDonald's I usually get a salad, and it's not on there. But if you order a burger or chicken nuggets or something, there's a nutrition facts table on the packaging.

McD's here in the UK list the calories too. I don't think it puts people off but may help people make better choices. It would be nice if all restuarants did the same.

btw, McD's have a nutritional counter on their website. You can get info on salads there.

What would like to see is some way of getting an accurate count of your home cooked meal, without having to resort to an expensive lab to do it for you. Until then I'll just have to estimate.

Hey Shimmer,

What an awesome idea. While I pretty much already know what I'm getting myself into when I eat it'd be good for other's who don't know or could care less about their health to see it. I think that obesity wouldn't be as big of a problem in America if people had to realize what their guttony is... if they had to see "omg, there is 1,500 cals in this plate of meatloaf and mashed potatoes, and then another 1,000 for the dessert" I think they'd re-consider. I do this tactic at my work. When someone comes and places doughnuts on the table, I look it up, put a bright sticky note on the top that reads "WARNING - 1/2 a doughnut has 300cals and your entire days DV in sugar". I noticed very few doughnuts are gone by the end of the day.

-Mel

 I'm constantly amazed at the high calorie content in food not made at home. I've stopped eating out, I only buy smoothies and trail mix from the store. It sounds like most people agree. How long will it take for food in my area to have the calorie content? I may live in a progressive area but it's still southern U.S. NY is way ahead of other states. I'm vege therefore I can't eat anything at McD(mostly) but I did notice the nutrition labels. (You can't read them in the drive through though). I love Mexican food but I never ever get to read the calorie content.

Haha littlemalynda that sounds like something I might do!

Original Post by littlemalynda:

When someone comes and places doughnuts on the table, I look it up, put a bright sticky note on the top that reads "WARNING - 1/2 a doughnut has 300cals and your entire days DV in sugar". I noticed very few doughnuts are gone by the end of the day.

-Mel

Ouch, that's kinda harsh. I would probably take offense at a note like that . . . I am all for "fair disclosure" but I'd prefer to see a nutrition facts label printed out rather than a note that starts with "WARNING" - because even though doughnuts aren't good for anyone, there's still freedom of choice!

I think this is a brilliant idea, I'd love to be able to know how many calories are in restaurant dishes, I often try to avoid eating out because of the inaccuracy of trying to guess the amount of calories in a meal. I definitely think that nutritional info should be on websites even if it isn't on menus.

McDonald's is one of the few places that does provide nutritional info and I think it gets slated too much for being unhealthy, as anyone who eats there has the power to make an informed choice.

Acerria,

Well I look at it this way... you still have the choice! lol! There are 18 people in my financial advisory group. I am the youngest of the bunch at 24. The oldest is 70. Most are in their late 30's. There are 3 people (including myself) who are NOT crazy overweight... everyone else is. In fact I have made such serious changes in the attitudes of my co-workers they are all slowly changing their diets... We even have a walk coming up for the American Heart Association. We just had a bake sale for it too... everyone had to bring fat-free, sugar-free, or low calorie treats :). In all honesty while some may find it offensive it is those who need to hear it the most. I'm out for a good cause...

do people get offended at the warning labels on ciggy's? lol... if they do it's like well... truth hurts ya know?

Ruby Tuesday tried this in a few test restaurants and their revenues tanked so badly in those places that they almost immediately withdrew the menus that they had been using. People would take a look, freak out, leave, and go across the street to another restaurant, where they'd order the same thing. Ignorance is bliss, I suppose.

Littlemalynda - I see where you're coming from with the donut thing... you're trying to inform them about what they are eating, but I think people in my office would find that a little offensive too. I think I would. Who is someone else to police what I'm eating? IDK, strikes me a bit like finding "Jesus loves you!" post its randomly around the office. They're just trying to "inform you", but that's really not their call...

this would be amazing, but then many restaurants would probably go bankrupt such as fast food chains, burger diners, and many fancy restaurants.

People will learn toward eating salads and few would eat the 1000 calorie cheesecake or the 850 calorie burger which is awesome for health, but many people would lose a ton of money. So people are kinda banking on people being ignorant.

It is very sad that very few people are aware of what they consume and are unaware of the fact that they just chowed down on 2500 calories for lunch in one sitting. This is why 1 out of 3 Americans are overweight/ have diabetes. More people need to be educated on what to eat and what not to eat. It is very sad that finding a simple garden salad that is served to a filling quantity is hard to find and or asking for one automatically comes with dressing on it. If one is not sure attentive to what they consume, you can find yourself 5 pounds heavier in the blink of an eye

Original Post by antagonist_manifesto:

The least the US needs is more government regulation of what used to be the free-market. As consumers, we should pressure the food industry to go about these changes on its own, and reward those companies that do by buying from them, rather than from those companies which refuse to reveal the nutritional values of their products. It shouldn't take a nanny state or a whiny lawsuit, simply boycott. Yes, yes, I know; I'll keep my pipe dreams to myself.

i don't think most people know what a calorie is, how many are in the foods they eat and how many they need to be consuming in a day.

i think that making restaurants post the calorie content of food would possibly strike up a curiosity in people and hopefully may want to make them learn more.

and what's so grand about a free market?

i'm all about boycotting a company that you feel does not have fair practices but if their were not laws regulating the food we eat we'd be far worse off. people will do anything to make a buck and don't usually care about product safety. when that product is something i put in my body than it had better be regulated.

though i suppose how much you can really trust federal regulation is fairly questionable itself.