McDonalds New Item:

SBlost

I so wish that every restaurant/eatery listed the nutritional information - including serving size - on all menus!

Agreed!!

SBlost

I don't understand why all the people here are saying it wont stop everyone from going there or ordering the worst thing on the menu. So what? It will help out the people who do care, and isn't that the important thing? Why shouldn't the restaurant put the info up there for transparency's sake? It doesn't hurt anything and it does help some people.

Im glad they are going to post it. Then when I feel the urge for fast food I will look at it and run away!!! Maybe putting it up will help other people start to care and watch what they eat more closely.

BPayton27

I'm not going to lie, I still go to McDonald's occassionally. I love that they're posting caloric information on their menus now. I usually go with the intention of getting a double quarter pounder with cheese (I used to eat them multiple times a week) and am deterred now. It's hard for me to eat like that when it's staring me in the face.

Erisad

I so wish that every restaurant/eatery listed the nutritional information - including serving size - on all menus!

Me toooo.

RadioactivePirate

I love it when any place posts nutrition information. Especially since in a restaurant you REALLY don't know what you're getting. Stuff might sound healthy but you have no idea what ingredients they use. I've been to places where you can have an 800 calorie burger or a 1400 calorie salad, and you wouldn't know the burger was the healthier option unless you read the nutrition information. I've ordered a grilled chicken sandwich with no cheese thinking I was being healthy, and then gone home and looked it up only to find out I might as well have had a greasy burger and fries for all the calories they packed into it. You can never really know unless they tell you or you cook it yourself.

I actually think that McDonalds stands to gain from this... being the top fast food restaurant they have become pretty much synonymous with "unhealthy" so it might surprise some people to find out that depending on your meal choices you could get less calories eating at McDonalds than you might at Chipotle or Subway, which both have healthier reputations.

NikkiSixGuns

For my two cents, I appreciate the info being right there on the menu. Any time I eat out I investigate the menu ahead of time to see what's reasonable. Eating out doesn't happen often, but it does happen sometimes. So I like to see the calories & nutritional stats before I make a choice. Having the stats on the menu makes it that much easier for me to make an informed choice, especially when the website doesn't include information for newer menu items.

If packaged food distributors have to tell me what's in their product, why should restaurants be any different?

All restaurants should be required to disclose the info in some way, whether it's on a website, on the menu, or through a "by request only" option.

lyttlewon

I so wish that every restaurant/eatery listed the nutritional information - including serving size - on all menus!

^^This. Sometimes I don't have much of a choice on where I eat, like business provided food, but I can choose healthier based upon what is available from the place.

sharonray79

I so agree!!

DollyMiel

Been like this for years at all our McDonald's locations, as well as nearly all fast food chains. Maybe major metropolitan areas already implemented these things.

It's actually really excellent and the reason I go to McDonald's if I want fast food: they easily offer up calories in all their items and provide a variety of lower calorie options, believe it or not.

Hezzietiger1

I think it'll make a difference for people who care. Everyone wants a treat once in a while. McDonalds is delicious! When I go to Panera I check the calories and order accordingly and I have been for months. I did the same thing just this last weekend at McDonalds. Personally, I'm glad it's there.

jenilla1

I think it's a good thing. Some people will ignore it, but it will open the eyes of others.

I agree. And just because a lot of slobs out there don't care, doesn't mean it doesn't matter to people like me. I tend to only go to places that have nutritional information posted - and there are quite a few these days. I want to know what I'm eating. I have a digestive disorder and I will get sick if I don't watch what's going in my mouth. Having this info available makes me more likely to try a place out. I know I can find something appropriate for me without guessing my way into a potential disaster. :sick:

desiv2

I think this is a great step forward, not only posting calories, but trying to bring in healthier options. I understand that most people going there aren't looking to eat healthy, but like an above poster said it does help us people who do care. It might inspire a few people, and that's enough reason to do it. I'm really glad that soon this is going to be required by all chains..

Plus, even the article said this would put pressure on fast food chains to provide healthier alternatives. This could really help a lot of people.

mcjabber

Every single restaurant should have to do this, no matter the size.

It's too expensive. That would put smaller restaurants out of business.

And the government should not force these stupid restrictions on businesses. If you don't want the food because you don't know how many calories are in it, just don't eat there.

I don't know if it's a question of expense (how expensive is it to figure out the caloric values of your food items and print new menus?) so much as it is that I know they probably don't measure everything down to the nearest gram or hundredth of an ounce. A lot of cooks will approximate ingredients, so caloric values may vary. Not only that, but they might not measure exactly how much they put on the plate either, but just put enough on to fill it up. When you're in a dinner rush, you're just trying to push things out quickly.

I guess that the solution is just to say that caloric values on the menus are just only approximate estimations, though I bet there's some regulation that will stipulate that your variance has to be within a certain range.

In the long run, caloric values really only matter to those who are trying to be careful about what they eat and have some idea of what range they should be in. To anybody else, it's just another number on the menu that might be confused for the price or just ignored altogether.

It's pretty expensive--I think legally, to print calorie information, they have to give the item to a company that tests for it. I'm not totally sure of the science of it, but it's (as we know) how much effort it takes to incinerate the item. But more sciencey and expensive.

Saffyra

Mcdonalds has been doing this for years where I live.

I enjoy McDonalds occasionally and I like being able to plan it into my calorie allowance.

The article was skewed negatively and Im not sure why. Just like every place you go out to eat at, some choices are better than others and its great that theyre expanding this option to all areas whether is required currently or not.

Zombriana

On the Drive Thru menu's here it only lists things 'Under 400, 300, 200, or 100' calories. It's kind of a sad menu too. lol

kmhenry84

I so wish that every restaurant/eatery listed the nutritional information - including serving size - on all menus!

I was thinking the SAME thing. I wish they'd make it mandatory just like on food labels.

And I do agree that people who eat the big macs are still going to eat them.

NavyKnightAh13

Interesting.....I haven't had McDonald's in a while (simply because I get nauseous from their food, no matter what it is) but if they have done this, its been since I was there last :huh: . Or maybe I just haven't paid attention.

selig0730

i work at McDonalds and we change the menu boards next monday in the Northwest. Some people will see that and eat less and some people wont even care...they already have them at Jack in the Box. Theres also the 400 calories menu as well to order off so some people can eat healthy.

history_grrrl

For what it's worth, fast food chains aren't doing this out of the goodness of their hearts. They're doing it because it's now mandated by the federal government as part of the health care reform.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/business/24menu.html

Mcmilligen

Ultimately, I am glad that there is at least SOME changes taking form to encourage healthier decisions. That being said however, the consumer of said products will not choose healthier options unless they are properly educated on nutritional information. Even something as simple as calories stated on the menu will mean nothing to the consumer unless they know how many calories they can take in daily (or at least know an estimate). It is AMAZING how little people actually know what a calorie is, or why certain foods are so unhealthy for you.

This may be a step in the right direction (which is great), but I think if people were more concerned about their health they would question what it is exactly that is in the foods they are eating. It really is not that difficult to do the research and take initiative of your own health. The first thing that needs to occur, is a realization. Perhaps something like this may actually do that for some people- at least, I hope it does!