Calorie Posting Law Update

The New York Times came out with an article today called "Calorie Postings Don't Change Habits, Study Finds". It reports that:

A study of New York City’s pioneering law on posting calories in restaurant chains suggests that when it comes to deciding what to order, people’s stomachs are more powerful than their brains.

Funny, that's what I said. :)

Calorie Posting Laws

I just read an article, found here, about laws that require restaurants to post calories on menus and menu boards. According to the article, Heaping Helpings by Peter Rowe, all restaurants will be required to post this information by January 2011, with the passing of LEAN (Labeling Education and Nutrition Act). But the question is, is this going to help Americans make wiser food choices when eating out?

“Clearly,” said Dr. Eric Braverman, an assistant professor at New York's Cornell
Weill Medical College and author of “The Younger (Thinner) You Diet,” “smoking
education has worked. There is no reason to believe that sugar, salt and fat
education won't work.”

I have a hard time believing that people consuming fast food and huge entrees at restaurants are simply uneducated about just how bad that food is for them. I don't think calorie posting laws are going to affect the obesity rate in our country. People know what they are eating at restaurants is unhealthy, and they are doing it anyway. Seeing a number on the menu may make them feel guilty, but it's not going to stop them.