MorgueFile, kevinrosseel
Burger King, Pizza Hut and Pret have done it - placed calorie counts on their menus, that is. And now the government is putting pressure on more restaurants and takeaway chains to do the same. Question is, would it make you think twice about what you order?
If the Department of Health had its way, all restaurants, fast food outlets and sandwich shops would have calorie counts displayed on their menus in an effort to reduce obesity. But for the moment restaurants aren't obliged to do so by law, as the scheme is still only voluntary.
Food campaigners, however, say calorie counts don't go far enough. They say to really give people the information they need to eat more sensibly, you also need details of how much fat, sugar and salt is in every dish.
The more information we have about the food we eat can only help us live more healthily, right? But according to Wimpy, which put calorie counts on the menus of its 160 outlets two years ago, it hasn't made much difference to what its customers order. In other words, burgers still outsell salads.
There are, of course, many restaurants and other food retailers that display nutritional information about the food they sell on their websites. But again, there's little evidence that it has made much difference to what we're eating.
So what's your take on this issue? Do you believe calories and other nutritional information should be routinely displayed in food outlets? Or do you think it's a complete waste of time?