Calorie Counting Makes a Comeback

Get ready for sticker shock, as nutrition info hits menus

By Katherine Thompson, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 29, 2008 11:25 AM CDT

(Newser) – Thanks to new laws, calorie counting is back in vogue and bigger than ever, writes the New York Times. After decades of diets that focused on the balance of fat, protein, and carbs, “More and more, people are looking at calories in, and calories out,” a doc tells the Times.
Chain restaurants in New York are now required to print the calorie content of dishes next to prices, and the harsh truth is prompting some menu changes.

As the restaurants tell it, it's consumer desire driving most of the changes, from smaller servings of quiche at Au Bon Pain to Starbucks' shift from whole milk to 2%. “Everything we consider to have a good caloric rating is marching up the charts,” says one exec. And laws like New York's have inspired others, including one in California, and two versions of calorie-posting laws are floating around Congress. Of course, though portion sizes are dropping, prices aren't.

[Images (4)]

[Quotes (2)]

An ad by the New York City Health Department advising that most adults should limit themselves to 2,000 calories day. (AP Photo)

In South Los Angeles, fast food is the easiest cuisine to find, and that's a problem for elected officials who see it as an unhealthy source of calories and cholesterol. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

New York has required its restaurants to post calorie information on the menu next to prices, a strategy that seems to be making more people pay attention.

Starbucks customers in New York and other cities with calorie-posting rules can no longer pretend that a grande cinnamon mocha with whip doesn't pack the same caloric punch as a sandwich. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

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I can look at a cookie that is the size of a man’s hand and think it’s only twice as big as a regular cookie, but it actually has the caloric content of four or five cookies. - Kate Adamick, a food consultant, showing that even she is not immune to food-related delusions

I know some people want something that’s sexy and different and new, but there really isn’t anything new about weight loss. - Dr. Terry Eagan, a Los Angeles psychiatrist specializing in eating disorders

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Calorie Counting Makes a Comeback