Do posted calorie counts help or hurt?
Jul
29Posted in [General Health], [Nutrition], [research] By LifeWayKefir LifeWayKefir
7/29/2011 6:55 AM
Anyone who’s visited Starbucks in the past year (in other words, everyone) knows that bananas have about 100 calories. The reason we know this is because Starbucks posts calories counts for all of their food – a move made mandatory a few years back in NYC.Some people find posted calorie counts helpful – perhaps they never realized their favorite apple muffin from the corner bakery packed in more calories and fat than a small McDonalds burger. Others are bothered by the information, saying it ruins the fun of eating.
It appears the posts do work: A new study published in the British Medical Journal found thatthe 2008 New York City law requiring fast food companies to post nutrition information on menus resulted in one in six customers ordering items with fewer calories: On average, customers bought 44 fewer calories at McDonald's, 80 fewer calories at Au Bon Pain and 59 fewer calories at KFC. (As the ladies at Jezebel helpfully pointed out, , dropping 44 calories from an order at McDonald's amounts to eating one less Chicken McNugget.)
But while it’s fantastic that one in six customers chose low-fat vinaigrette over ranch, that still means five out of six customers muttered “Whatever” and ordered their Whopper and fries.
As for us, we find the nutritional postings to be incredibly empowering – that’s why we post the calorie count of our frozen kefir at our Chicago Starfruit stores. People deserve to have the information they need to make healthy, informed choices. And by the way, those choices don’t have to be perfectly healthy every single time – there’s room for a big, fat burrito with cheese and sour cream every now and then. (Although we prefer the creamy tang of plain kefir!)
What do you think? Are you for or against posted calorie counts?
On processing, please waiting for ...