Even Starbucks has jumped onto the low calorie bandwagon

Following on from the laws enacted in America which require restaurants which have more than twenty establishments to advertise calorie counts on menus there has been plenty of positive change as a result. The laws which will be enacted in all American states by 2011 were met with howls of protest but fast food chains are definitely rising to the challenge as can be envisaged by the lower calorie counts of their food products.

For example it is been noted that lower calorie items on menus are selling far better now. When it is clearly listed that a burger on a menu can vary in calories from around 300 up to well over 1,000, people can now make intelligent healthy choices. This legislation which even covers drinks has been a real eye opener for consumers who now have seen how calorie laden a simple thing like a coffee can be and that other beverages such as green tea have far less. Researchers from the University of Minnesota said that coffee found in restaurants could vary from 20 calories to a whopping 800 calories!

The legislation has worked wonders in some cases for example KFC is busy advertising lower calorie grill options instead of the usual fried chicken and McDonalds has responded by making its portions of French fries smaller. Even Starbucks has jumped onto the low calorie bandwagon by making the simple but highly effective change of using low fat milk.

KFC grill options and McDonalds its French fries. low fat milk. Hopefully in the near future restaurants will start to compete with each other not only on price and food quality but also on low calorie counts. Those restaurants which can provide good healthy food may be the ones which get the most customers in the future rather than those which promise greater quantities for a smaller price.

The concept of "Go Large" which was used by so many fast food restaurants is now far more difficult to promote because the extra calories will have to be advertised alongside.