Food Calorie Counts Do Not Change Eating Habits

From The Washington Post, "Calorie counts don’t change most people’s dining-out habits, experts say" by Michael S. Rosenwald:

Evidence is mounting that calorie labels — promoted by some nutritionists and the restaurant industry to help stem the obesity crisis — do not steer most people to lower-calorie foods. Eating habits rarely change, according to several studies. Perversely, some diners see the labels yet consume more calories than usual. People who use the labels often don’t need to. (Meaning: They are thin.)

Read the complete article here.

Once again, as is often the case, laws and regulations fail to achieve their intended benefits. Unnecessary laws increase business costs and raise the specter of potential legal liability and lawsuits if a restaurant inadvertently posts an incorrect calorie count on some food item.