{"id":286,"date":"2008-10-18T20:12:41","date_gmt":"2008-10-18T18:12:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.ultimatefatburner.com\/wordpress\/?p=286"},"modified":"2015-02-12T21:11:10","modified_gmt":"2015-02-13T02:11:10","slug":"kudos-to-arnie-but-will-it-really-make-any-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/ufb-blog\/kudos-to-arnie-but-will-it-really-make-any-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"Kudos To Arnie… But Will It Really Make Any Difference?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In late September, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill<\/a> that will mandate Californian restaurant chains to post nutritional information on both menus and menu boards.<\/p>\n

That’s a good thing.<\/p>\n

As you and I know, obesity is taking an awful toll on the health of North Americans both young and old. And the financial cost is staggering too; from the tax payer’s point of view, it makes good sense for policies like this to be implemented-not just in Canada and the U.S., but worldwide.<\/p>\n

Despite this, I have to ask you…<\/p>\n

Will this make any difference?<\/p>\n

Do the folks who eat at Mickey-Dee’s regularly really give a hoot about the amount of calories they are consuming? Some, obviously, won’t be\u00a0affected no matter what anybody does<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n

And will the numbers really mean anything if they are not presented in context? For instance, if you\u00a0have no idea how many calories you should be consuming in a day,\u00a0how much impact will it have to learn that a Big Mac has approximately 550 calories<\/a>?\u00a0Is that a lot? A little?<\/p>\n

With no point of reference, I suspect most people will shrug their shoulders, and carry on as usual.<\/p>\n

You might feel a little differently about ordering a Big Mac, large fries and a cola if you knew that it would take you\u00a0a minimum of\u00a0two hours of pretty intense exercise on a treadmill to burn off those calories (this number will vary according to bodyweight and bodyfat percentage, click here<\/a> for a calorie calculator).<\/p>\n

But if you don’t know… then what?<\/p>\n

I guess my point is this…<\/p>\n

Forcing restaurants to include calorie information on their menus is a good start. But it is only that-a start. Without an public educational program to accompany it, I’m pessimistic about the chances of such labeling making a dramatic difference in the obesity crisis.<\/p>\n

What do you think?<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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