“I came to get a meatball marinara and now I have an oven-roasted chicken,” he said. His reason? “Because of the calories,” he explained.
According to information posted on the Subway menu board, the meatball sandwich weighed in at more than 1,000 calories, or half the daily 2,000 calorie intake recommended by US nutritionists for most adults. The chicken breast option offered a less challenging 620 calories.
“Now I don’t have to run as much,” Mr Thompson said of his changed lunch plans. Julienne Gutierrez, one of his friends, adds: “We talk about the calories all the time.”
New York last year became the first US authority to require restaurant chains to list item-by-item calorie counts on their main menus, from the Sbarro mozzarella deep pan pizza (660 calories) to the chocolate chip muffin at Dunkin’ Donuts (630).
With similar legislation now before the US Congress, calorie-counting at lunch may become a national pastime, in a move that advocates argue could help stem America’s rising obesity crisis.
“Menu labeling is an easy and understandable way for people to cut hundreds or thousands of calories from their ordering with just a split-second decision. It’s certainly easier than going for a run for two hours,” says Margo Wootan, director of nutrition at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which campaigns for menu labeling.
Read more here: Labeling helps diners change course