It's a step in the right direction but not the cure-all for the obesity problem in America. New York City has had this law for a couple of years now and a study completed in 2009 determined the calorie postings had no effect on purchases made by customers. The study was done at 4 fast food restaurants located in poor neighborhoods of New York City. These neighborhoods had the highest rates of obesity. This only underlines that labeling laws are only the tip of the iceberg and more needs to be done.

It's a step in the right direction but not the cure-all for the obesity problem in America. New York City has had this law for three years now and a study completed in 2009 determined the calorie postings had no effect on purchases made by customers. The study was done at 4 fast food restaurants located in poor neighborhoods of New York City. These neighborhoods had the highest rates of obesity. This only underlines that labeling laws are only the tip of the iceberg and more needs to be done.

I oppose this action. I believe that if you are someone who needs to be watching your weight, you should restrict eating out, especially at chain restaurants. You should also be doing your own research.

There are conditions far more unhealthy and dangerous than obesity - eating disorders. The easiest way to develop an eating disorder is to be come preoccupied with calories, and begin to calorie count. Many eating disorders take form in pre-teens and teenagers - they may see calorie counts in these chains and become concerned that they are eating too many calories, leading to more dangerous obsessive behaviors.

Dramatic weight-loss is much more detrimental to one's health than being overweight. Our country is too concerned with the so-called "obesity epidemic" and too little concerned with its obsession with weight loss.

It is not difficult to assume that some foods should be avoided if one is watching his or her weight. No one needs to have the calorie count thrown in his or her face to decide that a piece of cheese cake isn't the best snack for someone who is overweight.

Meg, while you are correct to raise the issue of individual personal responsibility, unfortunately it is not as simple for many people to say that the "cheesecake is not the best snack." In many instances, when dining out at a chain restaurant, a consumer may select a salad believing that to be healthier than some other entrees. However, many chain restaurant salads have more calories than other entrees because of what is loaded into them. I also saw a recent article that a dish at PF Chiangs has over 7500 (not a typo) mg of sodium. There is no way to know this unless restaurants are mandated to disclose nutritional information related to their foods.