It has been eight years, but the National Restaurant Menu Labeling Law (part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) will be in effect on Monday. Restaurant chains with over 20 locations will be required to post the calorie content of their standard offering on menu boards and print menus. The goal is to raise awareness of the amount of calories in the items we choose - and to do so before we make that choice. This law has the potential to change our behavior as consumers as well as the behavior of those providing us with food and beverages. Will the calories available to purchase decline? Will we purchase AND consumer fewer calories? If the answers are yes, will the country's obesity rate plateau or decline? I sure hope so - but that's a lot of ifs.
Meanwhile, the recommended changes to the Nutrition Facts Panel have been delayed to 2020 - here we go again. The main change on those labels is an emphasis on total calories and added sugar and a de-emphasis on total fat.
On a personal note, sorry I don't post much anymore, but my students require a substantial amount of my time!
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