Calorie info from McDonalds - Source: AP/Ed Ou

Yesterday I read an article from NPR about more restaurants complying with the law to include calorie counts on their menu. The law went into effect in March. There won’t be strict regulations in place until March 2011, but Tuesday a draft of the regulations were released. This news reignites the general conversation about calories on menus, and if you don’t believe me just look at the comments on the news stories about it.

From a public health promotions perspective (even though that is limited since i’ve only had a week of classes ), it is important to try to take steps to encourage people to make good decisions. Of course calories aren’t everything, but they are important and it is a step in getting people to think about what is fueling their bodies. Maybe one day, everyone will be interested in other nutritional information, ingredients lists and food policy, but until then, menus with calorie counts are a good start.

I’ve heard a lot of grumbling about the government “regulating personal choice,” but it is actually regulating restaurants. It is encouraging better choices by offering a more well-rounding picture of what someone is ordering. They may think they are making the best choice by ordering a salad, only to find it has more calories than a burger. Not offering this information would be like asking people to vote for a candidate without allowing the candidate to speak to the public.

And before anyone says anything about regulating private industry, I will point you to the egg recall. Food has been regulated for a long time, as it should be. The only difference is now, instead of looking at acute diseases that can be caused by food, this policy is looking toward preventing the chronic diseases that can be caused, in part, by eating too many calories. And, as this N.Y. Times article points out, it isn’t very effective to change individual behavior without also changing the environment those individuals exist in.

It doesn’t mean people won’t still choose the higher caloric food, it just means they will have a better idea of how that fits into their diet. Maybe they will split the dish, or maybe they will make it more of a once-a-month food rather than an everyday food. Maybe it will help them to start asking questions to understand portion size or ingredients better.

Also, I hope it will encourage restaurants to have healthier, more reasonable options rather than over sizing and pumping everything full of fat and sugar to make it tastier. And hello, can we get some vegetables around here?

I want to know what you think! Do you think this will make a difference?