Calorie Counts on Menus Force Hard Choices

NEW YORK -- Alejandra Ramos has lost her appetite for the occasional carnitas burrito from Chipotle, the frozen frappucino from Starbucks and the blueberry muffin from Dunkin' Donuts.
And she's not happy about it.

"Once they put up the calorie counts, then suddenly I was like, 'I can't eat this, this is a whole day's worth of calories,'" said Ramos, 26, of her Chipotle burrito. At Starbucks, the culinary writer said, "I have ended up ordering a hot tea, which is nothing, or a bottle of water."

Blame New York City officials for her misery. The city requires chain restaurants to post calories alongside menu items, which means she has to face the music: That blueberry muffin has 510 calories.

After she read that, Ramos ended up giving the muffin to someone asking for change on the train.

"So those favorites of my childhood have now been ruined by the calorie counts," she said.

Menu labeling laws are popping up across the country. And if the health care reform bill passes, restaurants with at least 20 locations throughout the country will have to post calories on menus; other nutritional information, such as fat, sodium and carbohydrates will have to be in writing somewhere in the restaurant. (There's not enough room to fit everything on the menu board.)

Proponents say the information is needed more than ever. Americans eat about a third of their calories at restaurants, according to Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy for the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, D.C., which worked with legislators on the menu labeling provision. Two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese.

Studies show that most people can't guess how many calories are in a menu item, and often underestimate, said Wootan.

At Dunkin' Donuts, for instance, Ramos would have been better off calorie-wise choosing the apple cheese danish (330 calories) or a ham, egg and cheese on an English Muffin (350 calories).

"People have a right to know what's in their food so they can make their own choices," said Wootan. "If someone is going to sell you a 3,000-calorie appetizer, they should tell you, so you can decide for yourself if you really want to eat 3,000 calories."