(AP) -- Customers at big fast-food chains in New York City are finally facing the facts about their meal choices. And for some, the truth may be hard to swallow - like 1,130 calories for a Big Mac, medium fries and a medium soda. After months of resistance, the city's chain restaurants have begun obeying a first-of-its-kind rule requiring them to post calorie counts right on the menu.
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NYC takes calorie-counting campaign to the rails
(AP) -- Craving a burrito with sour cream and guacamole? What if you knew it had more than half the calories you should eat in a day?
The big gulp: consumers avoid extremes in soda sizes
As portion sizes have increased, Americans' waistlines have expanded. And as a new study in the
Journal of Consumer Research demonstrates, consumers are tricked into drinking more soft drinks when retailers eliminate small drink sizes.
Children's consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages
A recent study published in Pediatrics and led by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health found that sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are an increasingly large part of children and teens' diets. Teens who consume SSBs, which include sodas, fruit drinks and punches, and sports drinks, drink an average of 356 calories per day, a significant increase from 10 years earlier. The findings suggest that reducing empty caloric intake by limiting these drinks may be a key strategy for promoting healthy eating and preventing excess weight gain.
Super-sizing great for your wallet but not your waist
From mega mugs of soda that don't even fit into the average car cup holder to jumbo orders of fries that could feed an elephant, many fast-food restaurants are offering super-sized portions that appear to be easy on the pocketbook.
'Healthy' restaurants help make us fat, says a newl study
If you're like most, you eat worst at healthy restaurants. The "health halos" of healthy restaurants often prompt consumers to treat themselves to higher-calorie side dishes, drinks or desserts than when they eat at fast-food restaurants that make no health claims, according to a series of new Cornell studies.
You're likely to order more calories at a 'healthy' restaurant
An important new study from the
Journal of Consumer Research explains the “American obesity paradox”: the parallel rise in obesity rates and the popularity of healthier food. In a series of four studies, the researchers reveal that we over-generalize “healthy” claims. In fact, consumers chose beverages, side dishes, and desserts containing up to 131% more calories when the main dish was positioned as “healthy”.
Prof: People should mull over how much wine, beer they pour
While many people are aware of the potential health hazards posed by oversized food servings, a Purdue University expert says consumers face the same risks at the neighborhood bar as they do at a buffet bar.
Trans fat ban: Watch saturated fats and calories too
In December, New York City passed a law to phase out the use of trans fat in restaurants. Other cities, including Boston and Chicago, might follow suit. According to Alice H. Lichtenstein, DSc, Gershoff professor of nutrition science and policy at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, the ban is a step in the right direction, but restaurateurs need to replace partially hydrogenated fat with unsaturated fat.
