Published 18 November 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a2229
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a2229

Feature

Public health

The fattening truth about restaurant food

¹ Savoie, France

Head to head, doi:10.1136/bmj.a1761,doi: 10.1136/bmj.a1750

Going out to eat is often a disaster for the waistline. Karen McColl reports on US efforts to make diners more aware of what they are eating

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Customers going into restaurant chains like Burger King or Starbucks in New York can now take calories into account when they choose what to eat. Since May, chain restaurants in the city have been required to include calorie contents on menu boards, menus, and item tags. The law applies to restaurant chains with more than 15 branches nationally.

Similar menu labelling, or "calorie posting," laws came into force in September in San Francisco and Santa Clara County in California, and the requirement will soon apply to the whole state. Arnold Schwarzenegger has now approved an amended version of a menu labelling bill that he vetoed last year, making California the first state to pass a menu labelling law. Around 20 cities and states across the US are considering menu labelling legislation. But the restaurant industry is fighting all the way.

"It’s just the most astonishing thing I’ve ever seen," says . . . [Full text of this article]

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    StumbleUpon    Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Articles

Should we use regulation to demand improved public health outcomes from industry? Yes

Stephen D Sugarman
BMJ 2008 337: a1750. [Extract] [Full Text]

Should we use regulation to demand improved public health outcomes from industry? No

Stig Pramming
BMJ 2008 337: a1761. [Extract] [Full Text]

Related external webpages:

Listen to podcast

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Food for thought from Karen McColl

Carlo Pedrolli
bmj.com, 25 Nov 2008 [Full text]

Legislation for drinking water !

Sujoy Ghosh, et al.
bmj.com, 25 Nov 2008 [Full text]

Online poll

Find out more >>