

US Healthcare Bill Requires Restaurants to Display Calories, But Will it Help? - kkleiner
http://singularityhub.com/2010/03/28/us-healthcare-bill-requires-restaurants-to-display-calories-on-menus-but-will-it-help/

======
texel
I know this is just a single data point, but they've already instituted a law
like this within King County. It has certainly changed the way I order when
I'm out. Accuracy of the numbers notwithstanding, you can clearly see huge
differences in calorie counts between different menu items, and I've
personally steered clear of some of the more daunting ones that I might have
otherwise ordered.

Once again, that's just me, and it doesn't really speak to the accuracy of the
figures.

~~~
nt
Ditto in NYC. You'd be surprised ( or at least I was ) to find out that
certain salads are quite the calorie bombs while other dishes ( ex. pasta
bolognese ) have far fewer calories than you'd think.

~~~
digitallogic
I was thinking the same thing about NYC (though I don't live there) as I
remembered reading that a study found it did have an impact on people's eating
habits: <http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/starbucks.html>

------
jerf
Of course, if the problem turns out not to be food calories but food
composition, the only thing this will do is push more useless information into
people's faces. Making it more prominent won't make it more useful.

Personally, I would take this as further condemnation of the calorie counting
approach to health in the first place. Our ancestors did not need it, and
there's nowhere in the human body to input raw calorie counts into our satiety
mechanism. This is the classic hacks piled on hacks pattern, instead of fixing
the root problem.

~~~
antidaily
But every nutritionist says "calories in, calories out"; that effectively
counting calories and eating less is the only sure way to lose weight.

~~~
digitallogic
On the surface, yes, less calories eaten than burned will result in losing
weight, but only following this rule on the surface is dangerous.

* Do you get enough of the necessary nutrients? * Do you eat so little that your body starts to reduce it's metabolism? * Do you have exercise program that continues after you stop a reduced calorie diet to rebuild the lost muscle tissue (your body burns both muscle and fat tissue when compensating for the missing calories)? * After the diet do you return to normal eating habits, or eat a diet that is balanced against your physical activity?

------
lethargus
I believe this will just keep the moderately health conscious people being
health conscious but will leave the ignorant unchanged and continue to make
poor food choices. Take McDonald's packaging for example. They have been
putting nutrition information on their packages for some time now but do you
think that deters Joe Blow from ordering his super duper extra large king size
Coke and fries?

Do you really need nutritional information hitting you in the face to realize
that deep fried chicken that you're going to eat is bad for you?

It's not as if they use this information to decide between a hoagie and a
salad. They use it to decide if they should get the huge hoagie or the one a
couple of inches smaller.

~~~
thehigherlife
Having it on the package is a little different though since you don't find out
about the calories until after you order. When the counts are before you make
the decision it may have a more profound effect.

~~~
lethargus
Yes I know, seeing it on the package after you order it couldn't possibly stop
you from repeating the same mistake and avoid ordering it the next 100 times.

~~~
jerhinesmith
I think you're giving too much credit to memory. Even though I've looked at
the nutritional information on my fish sandwich the last three or four times I
ordered it, I honestly cannot give you even a rough estimation of the calorie
count -- nor would I be able to have an informed opinion the next time I'm in
line and trying to decide between the fish and a big mac.

On the other hand, having that information displayed _prior_ to ordering not
only makes it readily apparent, but it also removes the burden of forcing the
consumer to be constantly carrying around past nutritional information in
their head.

~~~
lethargus
Do you really think that either are a healthy choice? You're comparing two
poor choices with each other and both will likely have the same outcome if
eaten regularly. No nutritional label is going to change that.

Also, you're making the assumption that people can make a proper choice after
reading a nutritional label. I could show someone that is less informed the
nutritional data for various pieces of fish (that hasn't been breaded or deep
fried) and they would think the fat and cholesterol content means that it's
horrible for you when in fact fish has been shown to be beneficial.

~~~
jerhinesmith
_Do you really think that either are a healthy choice?_

No, not necessarily.

 _You're comparing two poor choices ..._

Of which one is most certainly less poor. Granted, neither might be optimal,
but if you've reached the point that you're reading the nutrition information,
chances are you've already chosen where you're going to eat. Are you saying
that making the slightly healthier choice would somehow be sub-optimal given
the situation?

 _Also, you're making the assumption that people can make a proper choice
after reading a nutritional label._

Yes, and that might be the wrong assumption when given the choice between
apples and oranges; however, when contemplating a large fry vs. a medium fry
(or a large anything vs. a smaller version of the _same thing_ ), the proper
choice should most definitely be clear.

------
replicatorblog
I think it is a fine idea, but I don't think it will be effective. Has the
average person become heavier or lighter since the introduction of the
Nutrition Facts Label on packed food was introduced in the 90's? The issue is
the length of the feedback loop and the power of momentum. I saw some other
stat that showed even after heart attacks only 30% of people changed their
lifestyles.

------
antidaily
Maybe it will help people who think ordering a large caesar salad is healthy.

------
vishaldpatel
It'll force some restaurants to rethink their menus.

------
TNO
I'm still buying the cheeseburger...

