Calorie Counts Go Public - Would it Change Your Mind?

If you knew that the donut you were about to put into your mouth contained almost 500 calories, would you still eat it? What if you were told that the super sized meal you typically order while in a rush to get back to work contained almost 2,000 calories, or even more? This is the debate going around the country as New York City and California follow through with laws requiring large chain restaurants to openly display calorie information for all menu items.

New York City alone has proven that many people would make smarter decisions on what they put into their body if they knew upfront what they were actually eating. The sad fact is that right now most people go about their daily life with very little thought about what they are actually eating. They see labels like "fat free" or leave the cheese off a double cheeseburger and somehow think they are making better decisions.

The only way to counteract this is to put the real calorie counts right up on the board. Unfortunately, leaving off the cheese is not even going to make a dent in the fat load of a 600-calorie burger, and it's about time everyone realized that!
If you are trying to lose weight, you know you have a big struggle when it comes to eating out. There is the old advice to look up calorie counts online prior to going out to eat, but there are three obstacles:

1. Not all restaurants have nutritional information online.

2. Many people do not have the time to look up this information or forget to do it.

3. Most people eat out at spur-of-the-moment times.

If calorie counts were printed right on the menu, then all of these problems would be avoided! People who want to know what they are eating and who want to make smart decisions will have the tools right in front of them to do so. They won't have to guess about the smartest decision or wonder if that veggie burger was fried in fatty grease.

So, what about people who don't want to know? What about people who sincerely could not care any less what they are eating? Well, they don't have to look at it! Many of them will actually realize they do care more than they ever thought once they see the absurd calorie counts in their favorite foods.

It doesn't hurt them to look at something they don't care about, but it is hurting many people not having this information openly presented.

What about the restaurant chains? Are they going to be short-changed as more people shy away from their high caloric menu items? Probably not, because they are smart businesspeople and will adapt. They will start to develop lower calorie items that bring in people trying to make better decisions.

In fact, this could be a very good thing for fast food chains. Many people trying to lose weight rule out all fast food restaurants simply because they know they are more likely to fall off their fitness plan than to stay healthy. If these restaurants had healthier options and openly displayed the calorie counts, then those people trying to stay healthy would likely pull through the drive-thru a lot more often!

So what are your thoughts? Would you like to see the calorie counts on the menus of your local restaurants and fast food chains?