Mandatory Calorie Counts

Love it! So helpful when making food choices.

Well, I always either ask for nutrition facts when I eat out or look it up so this will just make things easier for me. But for people who don't obsess about what they eat like I do, it may be eye opening to many people when they realize what they are eating. And it may help many people make better choices.

I think this is good to a degree.. most businesses are already posting caloric and nutritional info and this will nudge the ones who aren't into it.

Hardees for example among the fast food chains doesn't post a lot of nutritional info.. they post some on their website and people have tried to figure it out on other websites but the info is incomplete. Sheetz by comparison has a lovely tool on their website that you can figure out any combination of order or ingredients easily.

The only downside I see really is it is a hardship for the restaurant to post all calories of all items in print that you can read that you could access in a drive-through. I think it's enough if they have the information accurately posted somewhere whether online or on paper or both.. I even have a couple of apps on my phone that will tell you calories in major restaurant chain's food.

Some people aren't going to read or understand what those numbers mean no matter how much you put it in their face, so why bother trying to post it at the drive-through if the info is available inside or online? The people who want the information will look it up anyway. I just want them to all have it where you can look it up accurately somehow.

For those who are technologically comfortable then going ot your cell and looking up info is a piece of cake, but let me give you a good example of why public posting (yes I know an initial expense but it's for those with more than 20 locations) would help. My hubby would do the drive through since he is on the road a lot. I started asking him what he had then looking it up and telling him what he ate. Huge eye opener for him. I think that folks on MFP are going to scoff at this but they are already tech savvy. MFP'ers re not in the majority and this might help many folks make at least marginally better choices since folks are not going to stop going to drive ins and large restaurants.

I agree. And even though I am savvy with technology, It is so much better to just look to the right and see the calories and make a better decision. Healthcare is a business too, so hopefully it will hurt the healthcare business by creating less sick people.

The sick people are actually HURTING the health care industry. Chronically ill people use up ridiculous amounts of resources and hospitals are constantly operating in the red. And a large portion of these people are underinsured. Physicians often don't get reimbursed for the work they put into trying to manage these patients.

Keeping people healthy saved EVERYONE money.

It's a very good thing. We need more education and information on what is being fed to us. Sunlight is good. Companies need to be responsible in providing that information in an easily understood way. This will also foster more competition among restaurants, some customers will seek out the more nutritious food and those companies will be rewarded for creating delicious, healthy stuff to eat.

It won't make any difference in the overall obesity stats, much the same way nutritional labeling has impacted obesity since that was introduced a decade or more ago.

How can you know that? I think it will definitely help, at least at the margins. If it reduces obesity rates over 10 years by 5%, then its a very good thing. It will lower health care costs and help take people out of the ER where your tax dollars go. Period.

Knowledge is Power. And soon people won't be able to say "they didn't know". And I am now a big fan of the Fresco menu at Taco Bell.

I'm really glad this is happening- how could knowing what you're putting into your body be a bad thing?

I would like this if only because it would save me the 5-10 min per menu item of screwing around on their websites looking up the calorie info (which is often a pain to find). It would be so much easier if it were just out there on the menu.

So one of the new(ish) pieces of legislation from the FDA is on calorie disclosure. The short version of the law (as I, in my limited knowledge, understand it) is that all restaurants or chain food establishments with more than 20 locations must provide full calorie disclosure on their products/menus. For example if you go to McDonalds the drive up window must have all the calorie counts for each product or if you go to gas station/convenience store chain they must have all the information posted as well. This has already been enacted in NY State but I believe is a nationwide change in the laws as it is a piece of the legislation on ObamaCare.

So the purpose of this post is not to stir up vitriol etc about Obamacare. I know we all have drastically differing opinions and if this were about politics then I'd have posted it elsewhere. What I'm interested in are people's opinions on this law. Is this a good thing? Bad thing? Is it helpful? Hurtful? Why or why not?

I think it is great! I wish they had done it years ago! I do think it is a good thing in several ways. It is a great tool for those of us counting calories & a great tool of awareness for everyone. It will make people of how much (calories) they are eating & not even aware of it. I do not like to see the government get involved in any more than they already are (which is way to much) ( my opinion only) If restaurants aren't going to do it on their own as a public service Shame on them !