4 ms·

The results at starbucks really make me think that we should mandate visible calorie counts for food establishments. No need to regulate calories directly, just

by tbabb 10y ago

The results at starbucks really make me think that we should mandate visible calorie counts for food establishments. No need to regulate calories directly, just inform people about what they're eating and let behavior follow.

trisomy21 10y ago
I fully agree. I've found this to be quite common in NYC now which has already had positive impacts for me. For example, just yesterday a friend wanted to grab a smoothie and after looking at the caloric values, I ended up making a selection that had at least half the calories I would have consumed had I just gone by ingredient listing alone. Smoothies can be deceptive!
DanBC 10y ago
They'd need to be accurate labels though. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE2lna5Wxuo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE2lna5Wxuo
Fricken 10y ago
Most overweight people I know are keenly aware of how many calories they're consuming, they just can't help themselves. I don't know how someone can drink a extra large milkshake without feeling like they just dropped a bomb on their digestive system. When it comes down to it, you need to be in tune with your body. If you need a nutrition label to know whether or not you're feeding yourself right, you're already in trouble.
nsxwolf 10y ago
We're already doing it in many places, it's mandated by the FDA for certain establishments like McDonald's. And all we hear about is Americans getting fatter and fatter. So maybe we could chill with the paternalism? When I moved out of the house I was done with having parents tell me what to do.
- sgift 10y ago
  If a piece of information is telling you what to do that's your own problem. Other people may actually prefer it when they have are able to make informed decisions.
  - nsxwolf 10y ago
    In the 80s and 90s they used to sell little paperback books that contained all the calorie information for all the popular chains in the US. People who wanted to be informed bought them. Now you have the internet. There's literally no excuse. If you want that information you can pull out your smartphone and look it up, right there, standing in the line. If you are a restaurant owner, it's just one more choice that's been taken away from you - what you want to put on your signs. You may think it's trivial, but it adds up. These choices are never ours to make again.
    - chimprich 10y ago
      Although you could google calorie counts in every meal you buy, the vast majority of people don't because of a) it would be tedious b) our body is telling us to eat calories and resisting the urge to think too much about what we are eating and c) everyone else would think you were a bit weird when you were looking up calories instead of having a conversation. As a customer you don't get a choice whether or not you get exposed to a lot of intrusive advertising encouraging you to eat more (at least in your McDonald's example). It seems to me this is in a small way redressing that balance. In purely pragmatic terms you are balancing the health of the population (heart attacks, strokes, mental state quality) against the right of a multinational restaurant chain to be slightly more profitable. I think it is well worth it. There are far more egregious abuses of personal liberty you could complain about.
      - nsxwolf 10y ago
        This is just utter baloney. The information exists. You can get it before you leave the house. Standing in line was just an example of how absurdly easy it is. Enough with treating the population like babies. This isn't even going to have any effect! And it would still be wrong to do even if it made everyone skinny.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
jeffmould 10y ago
The FDA already has some mandates[1]. Using your example, Starbucks falls under those mandates, and if you look at the Starbucks menu at their stores they do contain the calories of the drinks. The real problem is that often times the calories listed are not 100% accurate. [1] http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/LabelingNutrition/ucm248732.htm http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/Labelin...
- GnarlyWhale 10y ago
  Casey Neistat made a fun little video[1] that explores this a bit. Without spoilers, it was a bit surprising just how off some of the food is. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE2lna5Wxuo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE2lna5Wxuo
  - jeffmould 10y ago
    Saw that a while back. It is pretty interesting how off most were. Makes you wonder about all foods.

by tbabb 10y ago

trisomy21 10y ago

I fully agree. I've found this to be quite common in NYC now which has already had positive impacts for me. For example, just yesterday a friend wanted to grab a smoothie and after looking at the caloric values, I ended up making a selection that had at least half the calories I would have consumed had I just gone by ingredient listing alone. Smoothies can be deceptive!

DanBC 10y ago

They'd need to be accurate labels though. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE2lna5Wxuo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE2lna5Wxuo

Fricken 10y ago

Most overweight people I know are keenly aware of how many calories they're consuming, they just can't help themselves. I don't know how someone can drink a extra large milkshake without feeling like they just dropped a bomb on their digestive system. When it comes down to it, you need to be in tune with your body. If you need a nutrition label to know whether or not you're feeding yourself right, you're already in trouble.

nsxwolf 10y ago

We're already doing it in many places, it's mandated by the FDA for certain establishments like McDonald's. And all we hear about is Americans getting fatter and fatter. So maybe we could chill with the paternalism? When I moved out of the house I was done with having parents tell me what to do.

sgift 10y ago
If a piece of information is telling you what to do that's your own problem. Other people may actually prefer it when they have are able to make informed decisions.
- nsxwolf 10y ago
  In the 80s and 90s they used to sell little paperback books that contained all the calorie information for all the popular chains in the US. People who wanted to be informed bought them. Now you have the internet. There's literally no excuse. If you want that information you can pull out your smartphone and look it up, right there, standing in the line. If you are a restaurant owner, it's just one more choice that's been taken away from you - what you want to put on your signs. You may think it's trivial, but it adds up. These choices are never ours to make again.
  - chimprich 10y ago
    Although you could google calorie counts in every meal you buy, the vast majority of people don't because of a) it would be tedious b) our body is telling us to eat calories and resisting the urge to think too much about what we are eating and c) everyone else would think you were a bit weird when you were looking up calories instead of having a conversation. As a customer you don't get a choice whether or not you get exposed to a lot of intrusive advertising encouraging you to eat more (at least in your McDonald's example). It seems to me this is in a small way redressing that balance. In purely pragmatic terms you are balancing the health of the population (heart attacks, strokes, mental state quality) against the right of a multinational restaurant chain to be slightly more profitable. I think it is well worth it. There are far more egregious abuses of personal liberty you could complain about.
    - nsxwolf 10y ago
      This is just utter baloney. The information exists. You can get it before you leave the house. Standing in line was just an example of how absurdly easy it is. Enough with treating the population like babies. This isn't even going to have any effect! And it would still be wrong to do even if it made everyone skinny.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

jeffmould 10y ago

The FDA already has some mandates[1]. Using your example, Starbucks falls under those mandates, and if you look at the Starbucks menu at their stores they do contain the calories of the drinks. The real problem is that often times the calories listed are not 100% accurate. [1] http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/LabelingNutrition/ucm248732.htm http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/Labelin...

GnarlyWhale 10y ago
Casey Neistat made a fun little video[1] that explores this a bit. Without spoilers, it was a bit surprising just how off some of the food is. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE2lna5Wxuo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE2lna5Wxuo
- jeffmould 10y ago
  Saw that a while back. It is pretty interesting how off most were. Makes you wonder about all foods.