Yum Brands to provide nutritional info on menus

by Martha Edwards (Subscribe to Martha Edwards's posts)
Oct 1st 2008 7:48PM

Here's a frightening thought -- pretty soon, we'll be able to see the calorie counts on the menu boards of several fast food joints falling under the parent company Yum Brands, including KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, according to recent reports. Don't get me wrong -- I think we all agree that calorie counts on menus are a great idea. What frightens me is knowing how many calories are in a stuffed crust pizza, deep fried chicken thigh or cheesy taco crunchwrap supreme. The horrors.

Still, this is a definitely a step in the right direction for people trying to lose weight. No longer can you plead innocence after downing that bucket of original recipe chicken -- the 'I just didn't realize it had 10 billion calories' excuse won't work anymore. And for those of you who are counting calories, now you'll know exactly how much of your daily intake you've blown in one meal.

What do you think about calorie counts on menus?

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Comments (1)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

... 10-01-2008 @ 9:49PM

I'm very much in favor of having more information. Information is always a good thing.

On the other hand, the information has to be accurate. Just because they post it doesn't mean the food they serve will live up to those standards. The ABC "Menu Test" showed that variations in actual meal preparations might render the posted information useless -- or downright deceptive and misleading. For example, Taco Bell claims that their "Fresco Grilled Steak Soft Taco" has only 4.5g fat, but when ABC Menu Test ordered one and measured it, the results showed 19.5g fat.

Furthermore, just knowing the numbers isn't enough. People have to know what those numbers mean. It's not as easy as choosing the item with the fewest calories -- that would lead to consuming nothing but water. It's not how many calories are in the food but how much nutrition those calories give you. In the long run, consuming 50 calories worth of hydrogenated vegetable oil is not nearly as good for people as eating 100 calories worth of fruits, nuts, and vegetables. So, lower numbers aren't necessarily better. For me, I've found that counting calories results in drastic weight gain; the trick is to make the calories count.

Besides, people would probably be more successful at watching their weight if they just don't step into places like KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut in the first place. In such a place, even ordering the item with the fewest calories and grams of fat is still bad for people's health.

Still, kudos to Yum Brands for making the decision!