To Post or Not To Post?-- Does posting calorie counts matter?

The nutritional value of restaurant meals have gotten bad (but, sometimes, well deserved) raps! Often, these meals are far larger & have more calories, fat, salt, & sugar than recommended. There also tend to be less fruit, vegetable, whole grain, & low-fat dairy options. For more surprising info, check out WebMD's Typical Restaurant Meal Loaded With Fats, Calories (& Salt).

If eating out is an occasional treat, the excess calories can be managed with a little effort & planning. (More to follow...) However, many people eat out regularly. It becomes easy to see how the repetitive excess calories could contribute to weight gain.

On the bright side, it seems to have gotten easier to find healthy options. Or, has it? Some restaurant chains have spent a lot of money to advertise their "healthier" offerings. Although sometimes still nutritionally shudder-worthy, these foods may truly be healthier when compared to their other menu items. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Consumers' Estimation of Calorie Content at Fast Food Restaurants shows that we're really bad at estimating the calories in foods.

Perhaps it isn't our fault... ABC News' Calorie Counts: How Accurate Are They? indicates that some nutritional info provided by restaurants can be misleading or wrong.

So, is it even worth making restaurants share this info with us? Study results are mixed. People who are already concerned about their health tend to use & appreciate it. But, providing this info doesn't seem to influence everyone's choices.
- Today's Who Cares About Calories?
- WebMD's Calorie Advice on Menus Might Not Help People Eat Better
- Stanford Graduate School of Business' New Stanford Study Shows Posting Calories on Restaurant Menu Boards Lowers Customers' Calorie Counts per Visit