510 Calories for a Cookie?!
Msnbc.com posted an article today about New York City’s new legislation requiring city restaurants to post calorie counts in the same size and font as the food price.
New Yorkers have been in the throes of sticker shock since this spring when the Big Apple became the first city in the country to implement a law forcing chain restaurants to post the calorie count of each food in the same size and font as the price. … Many New Yorkers are finding that even the foods they thought were lower calorie really aren’t. … Outside the Forest Hills’ Dunkin’ Donuts, Juan Restrepo, the 45-year-old owner of a construction company, said he was quitting corn muffins — 510 calories! — this time for good. … Vicki Freedman, who lives in Manhattan, watches her weight and always tries to choose a light option when eating out. But the 26 year old just discovered that the Friday’s pecan-crusted chicken salad, served with mandarin oranges, dried cranberries and celery, has 1,360 calories.
I think this law is brilliant. Those three- or even four-digit numbers displayed next to innocent-looking cookies, frappaccinos, and even salads will surely bring accountability back to eating. Those who dread stepping on the scale may be most daunted by the new law, but I think it’ll do us good. This law may be a catalyst for restaurants to choose healthier ways of preparing dishes.
It might make some people upset to have their meals “ruined,” but that frustration would be short-lived. Eating healthy and giving up the fettuccine alfredo can be a drag, but it’s like exercise: you don’t want to do it, but you feel pretty good later for doing it.
The article mentions similar laws being implemented in Seattle, Santa Clara and San Francisco by the end of the year, which is absolutely fantastic. I think DC should follow suit. Plus, if we already had a law like that here, I probably wouldn’t have eaten (and now feel so sick from gorging on) a burger and milkshake for lunch.
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4:37 pm
NOOO!!!! What will happen to my all time favorite blog, the NYC Donut Report? Oh the horror!
6:16 pm
This is a wonderful idea and I really wish that DC followed suit. I am currently counting calories and trying to lose weight, and with rare exception (dates and the like), I only order items that have nutritional information. If this law was passed here in DC, I’d actually eat out more! I might even order the unhealthy things, and eat less during the day or cut calories dring other parts of the week, or maybe eat half and freeze the other half. I would love having this sort of information available everywhere. Until then, I might ask some NYC friends to send me menus for a few places! :P
7:37 pm
Brianna,
I dont understand your last sentence. How does knowing the calorie count of your burger and milkshake make you feel less sick?
8:08 pm
I guess the days of driving the Hummer two blocks to Starbucks for a triple chocolate chunk cookie and a venti frappamochatino are over.
Thank Zeus…
11:04 am
I meant that if I knew the calorie count of my lunch, I probably wouldn’t have eaten it in the first place. I’ll edit that for clarity.