On October 08 2009, Stephen J. Dubner (author of best-seller Freakonomics) posted an interesting article on the New York Times Freakonomics blog:

Does Posting a Calorie Count Change How People Eat?
from Freakonomics Blog by Stephen J. Dubner
Some time ago, we wondered if New York City’s new law requiring certain restaurants to post calorie counts might provide good material for academic researchers who care about obesity. The answer: yes!

Researchers have shown that posting the calorie count of food in several fast food outlets did not change food purchasing choices, especially in poorer neighbourhoods. The blog authors suggest that this new calorie posting law will have a greater effect among people who are already conscious of their calorie intake. Personally, I think that this is another example of giving people superficial information (calories) in the hope that more information will influence choice in an environment already over-burdened with conflicting food information. In my experience only the rare (and obsessed) person actually accumulates a running tally of their total daily calories, saturated fat, sodium or other nutritional parameters as they eat. Most of us will recognize the relative difference between various items on a menu, but without an idea of our daily cumulative total, how can we really use this information wisely – especially in the face of the very salient sensory temptation of the textures, smells, fat, sugar and salt of fast food.