Help me out a little with this...

mialsya

I'm taking an Experimental Psychology course this summer and we have to design our own psychological experiment and conduct it. I'm thinking about doing something about informed decision making when ordering at a restaurant. I pose this question: If the calorie counts were posted on every menu you ordered from, would you think twice about what you ordered? For example, let's say you had seen a new feature advertised at a local fast food place that you thought you would try. You get to the menu and see it has 1660 calories, plus 450 for the fries and another 370 for the soda. Would you still order it? (These are actual figures from a fast food chain's menu.) Or would you change your mind and order the item with 400 calories, downgrade the fries to a small with 200 calories, and get a diet soda with no calories?

This is just a preliminary question to kind of give me enough feedback so I can structure an actual experimental study. COnsider it more curiosity than anything.

dls06

Down grade 99% of the time. I feel too guilty and just can't do it if it right in front of me.

NotaNikki

I wish all restaurants did this! It would save so much time and would be so nice to just be able to go out to eat and be able to make an informed decision there instead of having to do research beforehand.

kristelpoole

I would ABSOLUTELY take that into consideration and I wish more places did this.

Andee08

I think it would make a difference if people had the calories blarring them in the face when they ordered. I think this is also a main reason why McDonalds is running the ads stating that their egg mcmuffin is only 300 calories. This is also why healthy choice restaraunts state the amount of calories in their food. It will help people feel good that they ate there.

sharoniballoni

Yes, the calorie counts definitely affect what I order when they are listed on the menu. In fact, when I know I'm going to a restaurant, I try to look at the menu in advance in order to make the best decision ahead of time.

travelgirl09

I would definitely downgrade and take the info into consideration.

sblair77

I wish they did this! I would love an easier time making better choices. I would also like them to list things that you think are healthy but are actually cooked in loads of butter! I hate when I order veggies and they come sitting in a pond of butter.

lsan1125

I know I certainly would order the menu item with less calories. And I know that even if I was not watching my intake I would feel guilty/bad about ordering something with that many calories.

aa1440

I stopped drinking sodas three years ago. Those things will kill you.

But yes, I always look at the calories. I check the web site for eateries before I walk in the door.

cammons

I wish all restaurants did this! It would save so much time and would be so nice to just be able to go out to eat and be able to make an informed decision there instead of having to do research beforehand.

I totally agree! Having calorie counts on the menu (rather than on a tray liner after I've ordered as in many fast food restaurants) would make a big difference on the way both my husband and I order. I can't tell you how often we've ordered something only to see the NI on the bag or tray liner and then ended up tossing half or more of the meal...some of those numbers can really turn your stomach.

Xandi

I would and do...
I love Chains that have added the calories to the menus.. if it is on a separate piece of paper it takes me forever to order something.

widmar

I live in the northern California valley and most places here have the calories and fat grams on their menus. It is the law that all food business now post calories and fat grams for the customer to easily see. It's kinda scary!!!! LOL

TakuraHunt

Honestly... before MFP I would have ordered the new feature and not given it a second thought. But now I would have to downgrade!!!

widmar

A lot of places also post on their drive thru menu's.

rundgrenfan

I would now, but I might not have a year ago.

acave9406

I would love if the restaurants did that!
I'd feel waaaaay to disgusted to know how many calories were in what I was about to eat and I would turn away.

sstans

I would! I would also love it if all eateries did this! I do go on line and do as much research as possible before eating out, whenever possible!

ruststar

The few times I've seen the calorie and fat counts in the menus it has definitely made me stop and rethink what I wanted to order. If it's posted on a wall somewhere I'm not going to stand there and agonize - instead I'll research at home before I leave or do the best I can to make an informed choice from what I know of the food prep (baked over fried, steamed over sauteed, etc...). You'll probably want to have a group of people who aren't actively paying attention to their diets to work with as well.

Peridotite

and to add to the overwhelming response....I would down grade! Maybe not 100% of the time, but yes I always would like to know the calorie and fat content before I order when I eat out.

Hope it helps :flowerforyou:

Elizabeth_C34

If the calorie counts were posted on every menu you ordered from, would you think twice about what you ordered?

I would LOVE to know this upfront. I can use my MFP app to look things up but having it on the menu would be a blessing. I don't always know what I'm eating is bad until I look it up as some things are not intuitive.

So, to answer your question directly, yes, it would change my decision!