the most significant player to agree to calorie information was Burger King

Following the lead of New York City a number of restaurants in the United Kingdom have agreed to display complete calorie information on their menus. This is extremely good news for anti-obesity campaigners who have been arguing that this initiative will reduce weight problems. In all eighteen catering organisations agreed to the calorie information guidelines which were announced by the Minister for Public Health, Dawn Primarolo along with the Food Standards Agency. The menus will begin to display the calorie content of individual items from the end of April.

Probably the most significant player to agree to display calorie information was Burger King however its main rival McDonald’s was noticeably absent from the list. KFC, Pizza Hut and Wimpy are also taking part. Other participants included major catering chains who supply food to hospital restaurants as well as corporate, educational and government establishments.  In all close to 500 food establishments around the United Kingdom will be introducing the calorie guidelines.

All of the restaurants have agreed to not only print to the calorie information on menus but also at any point where the customers are choosing their food. This means that restaurants like Burger King will display the information on the large menu boards that are clearly visible when you are at the counter. At Ukmedix News we have argued that letting people know how many calories they should eat as well as giving them clear and concise information about what they are eating will enable them to take control of their weight.

What is also so important about this initiative is that it will force restaurant to compete not only on food quality but also on low calorie counts. If patrons are aware that certain restaurants have a good range of low calorie foods they are more likely to go there and they will also avoid restaurants which make no effort to serve low calorie meals.

While this initiative may seem to be only a small step in the right direction, at Ukmedix News we believe that it could have a huge impact on the eating habits of the British public.