by John Finken

Created on: June 26, 2009   Last Updated: June 29, 2009

Chain restaurants have been ignoring a major responsibility to the people of Connecticut since the first fast-food restaurant opened. America is, simply put, the fattest country in the world. So many of us pay absolutely no attention to calorie content in the foods we eat, which is a problem in itself. But an even bigger problem is when a major business makes it hard for the public to find out the calorie content of its food. Chain restaurants, largely responsible for America's weigh problem, should be required by law to include the calorie content of their foods in their menus.

If you wanted to find out how many calories a McDonald's Big Mac has, you'd currently have to either ask an employee(can you say, awkward?) or look it up online. I went to McDonalds.com, and after clicking on four links, I get what I should have been able to find on the menu: calorie content, as well as other nutritional information. Now I see that the McDonald's Big Mac has 540 calories. If I had known that at the restaurant, I wouldn't have ordered it! This is a prime example of how misleading many large chain restaurants can be. It seems the only facts the fast-food industry wants to tell us is that their foods(some of which contain 42g of fat) are made with only fresh, healthy ingredients.

About a year ago, New York City passed an ordinance that requires some restaurants to post calorie contents of menu items. The ordinance mandates that restaurant chains that have at least 15 outlets nationwide must display the calorie count of food next to the price on the menu. The ordinance affects about 10% of restaurants in the city, and helps 100% of the city make smarter choices. Of course the restaurants were opposed, stating that the ordinance infringes on their First Amendment right of not having to carry a government message.

The old saying "The customer is king" really is true. And, if the customers ask for the restaurants to help do their part in making a healthier Connecticut, then a healthier America may closely follow. It is currently believed by numerous studies that by 2030, 86% of Americans will be overweight. In 1994, 33% of Americans were overweight, and 23% were morbidly obese, so the 2030 projection isn't far-fetched at all. Chain restaurants in Connecticut should be required to post calorie content of their foods on their menu, because everybody will benefit from it and thank them for doing so in the future.

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