60%, yo!

I heard on NPR this morning that 60% of New Yorkers are overweight or obese. WOW! That is a lot. That is bad bad news. The good news is this: currently, in New York City there is a law that requires chain restaurants (those with more than 15 outlets city-wide) to prominently display calorie information on their menus and just today Governor Patterson announced that he will attempt to make this a state-wide law. It works, it really does. Read the full information about the law here.
Now, I rarely make a jaunty to Starbucks these days (really, I almost never do, because there is an amazing little coffee shop near my work called Blue Spoon), but it was in a total act of desperation I found myself there during work one day. I was starving and was just going to get a coffee and a cookie, but lo and behold I saw clearly before my eyes that an M&M cookie contains 450 calories. Insane! I opted out. I love this. They have it at McDonald's and everything. It's genius and I think it will make a huge difference--part of the problem with 'nutrition confusion' is hidden labeling. I don't commend all of the governor's choices, but this is grand.