Burgerville's Personalized Calorie Counts: Will Other Fast Food Follow?

Like it or not, calorie posting is coming to a menu near you. After some initial debate in New York City, many studies have shown that posting calorie counts in chain restaurants is effective. A recent San Francisco Chronicle article by Marion Nestle gives specific examples of how calorie posting has resulted in smaller portions being offered at the Cosi in her New York neighborhood.

Nestle, a public health and nutrition expert and professor at New York University, firmly believes that calorie posting will help the general public better understand the link between calories and obesity. She's the first to admit that it's ridiculously easy to underestimate the number of calories in a restaurant meal, particularly one that's oversized or billed as "healthful," according to the Chronicle. "[J]ust try to guess the number [of calories] in the foods you order," she challenged in the article. "I can't do it, and I'm supposed to know such things."

One restaurant chain is taking things to the next level -- Pacific Northwest fast food chain Burgerville has started offering personalized calorie counts listed right on your receipt, Nestle wrote on her blog, Food Politics. And it doesn't stop there. Rather than just telling you how many calories you're about to eat, the receipt also makes suggestions as to how you can cut calories next time, such as, "If you are trying to eat healthier, try 'holding the chipotle mayo' on your sandwich and save 180 calories and 18g of fat."

Burgerville, which has 39 stores in Washington State and Oregon, isn't some Mickey D's wannabe with a sudden change of heart. The chain's tagline is "Fresh, Local, Sustainable," and, in addition to the regular fare (Colossal Cheeseburger, Crispy Chicken Sandwich), they offer two types of vegetarian burgers and a salmon salad, among other items normally not found at a burger chain.

But what made a successful fast food joint decide to put all of that nutritional information in such plain view?

"We piloted the Nutricate program for one year at our restaurant in downtown Portland and this test program was very successful," said Debe Nagy-Nero, Director of Quality Assurance, Nutrition and Safety at Burgerville. "Our guests demanded that we expand the program company-wide and we listened to their requests."

Burgerville believes that healthy eating doesn't mean cutting out your favorite foods. "We believe that you can eat a balanced diet by focusing on variety, moderation and customizations. With this program, guests are able to educate themselves about the food they are eating, understand how each meal fits into their overall eating habits, and make informed decisions."

So how has this impacted Burgerville's business? "What we found at the test restaurant this past year was an increase in smoothies over milkshakes over the previous year, an increase in no mayonnaise on sandwiches compared to the rest of the company and an increase in no cheese on sandwiches compared to the rest of the company," Nagy-Nero said, adding that they will continue collecting data for another six to 12 months, but can't say whether they've seen any increase in customers since the expanded program has only been in place for three weeks.

Do you think having the personalized calorie count printed on your receipt would help you order a more healthful meal? Are you more or less likely to patronize a restaurant that offers that information? And even if you have this information, is it truly the calorie-related data you need for weight loss?