NY Stays Calorie-Count Law

First lady to prod restaurateurs for smaller portions

(NEWSER) - Michelle Obama is taking her next shot at obesity, calling on the National Restaurant Association to enact nutrition reforms similar to those she has worked out with Walmart and the nation's schools, the New York Times reports. The first lady is pushing for restaurants to serve smaller portions and make sure that kids' menus provide more fruits and vegetables and less saturated fat and sugar. More»

US must get a handle on public health crisis

(NEWSER) - A widespread vice has a negative effect on Americans' health, and it's up to the government to do something about it. That approach worked for tobacco, David Lazarus writes for the LA Times , and it can work for obesity, too. "The answer seems obvious," he argues. "If we want to protect ourselves from a deadly epidemic of heart disease, diabetes and other ailments, just as we've taken steps to protect ourselves from an epidemic of lung cancer, we need to act." More»

Consumer group issues its annual list

(NEWSER) - The Center for Science in the Public Interest has released its annual list of calorie bombs available at chain restaurants. Among the winners of the "Xtreme Eating Awards":

• Cheesecake Factory's Pasta Carbonara with Chicken: 2,500 calories and 85 grams of saturated fat.
• Five Guys Bacon Cheeseburger: 920 calories and 30 grams of saturated fat. Want fries with that? A large order has 1,500 calories.

Here's a preview of your post-health care reform sticker shock

(NEWSER) - Thanks to a fun little side clause in the health care reform bill, fast food restaurants are going to have to start posting nutrition information on their menus. The Daily Beast decided to offer a preview of the 40 most shock-inducing items:

1. Wendy’s Triple Baconator: In a class by itself really, with 1,330 calories, 38 grams of saturated fat, 345 milligrams of cholesterol, and a whopping 3150mg of sodium.
2. SuperSonic Cheeseburger: Sonic only needed two patties to squeeze in 980 calories and 24g of saturated fat.

Some 200K chain restaurants will be putting the info in your face

(AP) - That Caesar salad you're about to eat? It's 800 calories, and that's without the croutons. You may choose to ignore the numbers, but soon it's going to be tough to deny you saw them: A requirement tucked into the health care bill will make calorie counts impossible for thousands of restaurants to hide and difficult for consumers to overlook. More than 200,000 fast food and other chain restaurants will have to include calorie counts on menus, menu boards, and even drive-thrus. More»