In an effort to battle the bulge, California became the first state Tuesday to require chain restaurants to post the calorie content of menu items.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation that will affect about 17,000 facilities once it is fully implemented in 2011.
The measure, Senate Bill 1420, is designed to spark diners to ponder their girth before choosing between a Jumbo Jack and a Burrito Supreme.
"When people go to the grocery store now … they can already read the labels and make informed decisions about what they eat," Schwarzenegger said. "But now they will also have that pleasure when they go to the restaurant."
Schwarzenegger's signing of the menu-labeling bill came two months after he approved legislation to ban restaurants from using trans fats by January 2010. The governor, a former Mr. Universe, also has cracked down in recent years on sales of soda pop, candy and other junk food in schools.
Obesity is a significant health issue, increasing the risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke and some cancers.
"It's tough to eat better without information to make the best decisions," said Sen. Alex Padilla, a Los Angeles Democrat who proposed the menu labeling bill.
By scouring calorie content, diners at McDonald's will find, for example, that they can avoid 460 calories by ordering a six-piece Chicken McNuggets instead of a Double Quarter-Pounder with cheese.
The California Restaurant Association dropped its opposition and became a supporter of SB 1420 after deciding it makes sense to create a statewide standard, rather than comply with a mixture of local laws. SB 1420 will bar cities and counties from imposing their own standards. It will nullify ordinances already passed by San Francisco and Santa Clara County.
Jot Condie, president of the restaurant association, said nobody knows for sure how many customers will alter their eating habits because of menu labeling.
"Intuitively, people (already) understand that french fries aren't in the health food category," Condie said.
Two of every three American adults are overweight or obese, and the rate of obesity in children and teenagers has tripled since 1980, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Implementation of SB 1420 will be delayed to give the industry time to adjust.
Beginning next July, chains with 20 or more California outlets must offer brochures disclosing calories, fat, carbohydrates and sodium. The pamphlet also must state: "Recommended limits for a 2,000-calorie daily diet are 20 grams of saturated fat and 2,300 milligrams of sodium."
Disclosure requirements will change in January 2011, allowing chain restaurants to provide only calorie content – but on easily seen menus or menu boards.
Violators cited by local health inspectors can be fined up to $500.
The new law does not apply to school cafeterias, all-you-can-eat buffets or food items sold by convenience stores, grocery stores or certified farmer's markets.
Drive-through customers will be treated a little differently from other diners. They need be informed only that a nutritional brochure is available upon request.
Condie said the new law will affect about 10 percent of the state's restaurants.
Harold Goldstein, executive director of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, said once chain restaurants begin posting calorie content, competitive pressures will grow for other facilities to join in and for healthier foods to be offered.
"Just like smoke-free restaurants, I imagine that menu labeling is going to sweep the nation," Goldstein said.
Padilla said the "bottom line is that consumers have the right to know what's in their food … I think most people will modify their diets." But some chain restaurants are concerned that they were singled out by SB 1420.
"If the goal is to empower customers to make better informed decisions when dining out, the proposal should apply to all food-service outlets in the state," Wendy's of Los Angeles said in a letter of opposition.
Other critics note that the legislation imposes new, but unknown, costs as chain restaurants are being hit with rising prices for everything from gas to commodities.
David Bradshaw, chairman of the Modoc County Board of Supervisors, complained that restaurants simply will pass on any expense to diners.
"Once again, the poor and middle class will pick up the tab for this extra cost," he said.
Call Jim Sanders, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5538.
