By Amanda Hill
If calories and nutritional information were listed on your favorite restaurant menu, would it change your order? Last week, McDonald’s announced it will list the calories of all of its food offerings both on its in-store and drive-through menus.
McDonald’s will roll out the new menus nationwide by the end of next year, ahead of a national mandate that would require all restaurants with 20 or more locations to do the same. The idea behind the regulations is that if you inform consumers with caloric information before they make their food choices, then they will be more likely to choose a lower-calorie meal.
I agree that consumers should be armed with information. I also like that consumers are still given a choice—unlike the recent “Big Gulp ban” in New York City.
The real question is, will it make a difference? If you knew that a Quarter Pounder with Cheese is 520 calories and a McChicken is 360 calories, would you choose the McChicken?
Some cities and states already have instated these rules. According to studies conducted in these areas, customers eat about 30 calories less when they know how many calories they are ordering. Over time, these savings can add up to real weight loss.
What do you think? Will these new menus help you make healthier choices, or will you order the food you’re craving? Weigh in by leaving your thoughts in a comment below.
Yes calories do make a difference – at least to me! I was glad to see that information listed on the drive-thru menu…made a difference to me in what I ordered! I applaude them! Consumers can’t say they didn’t know!
No. I will order the way I did before. A waste of time and money.
TWG, I think there are many Americans who will feel the same way you do. When they have their mind set on ordering something, they are going to order it.
Personally, I fit more in the spectrum with Angie. Seeing the nutritional information would influence my choice. I may not get something drastically different, but if a lower-calorie meal sounds just a good to me at the time, I will probably order it instead. I especially like that these revised menus give customers more information while preserving their right to choose. No one is regulating what we put in our mouths but ourselves, and I prefer personal choice.
Thank you both for your comments.
I agree with AHILL and ANGIE. If your cravings are much stronger than your desire to make healthier choices, you are setting yourself up for Heart Disease, Cancer and Diabetes. If we don’t control our intake somewhere along the line, we have only ourselves to blame. I just quit going to McDondalds all together because I refuse to let the taste of something greasy, crispy, cheesy or sweet take control of my life.
Sometimes cravings are hard to resist, and in moderation, these choices can be ok. But our day-to-day food choices shape our health and future. We have to make educated, smart choices to keep ourselves going strong. Thanks for joining the convo, Li.
Great article. Couldn’t be write much better!