When obesity is mentioned in the United States it is not uncommon for people to point a finger at the fast food chains. One of the restaurants that take the most heat for the responsibility of the increasing obesity rates in the United States is McDonalds. However, it appears that McDonalds may be trying to change the way that they are perceived in the public eye. The chain best known for their Big Mac sandwiches are now putting the nutrition facts on both the drive thru and in store menus. The nutrition facts will include data such as the calorie, fat, protein, and carbohydrate count. With a possibility of a law being passed in the near future requiring fast food chains to list the nutritional value of their food on their menus, McDonalds decided to take initiative and do it before it became a law. That means that all of the nearly 14,000 restaurants in the United States alone will have to show the nutritional facts on their menus.
The article states how nutritional experts believe this could be a step in the right direction when trying to fight obesity within the United States. “The posting of calorie information isn't a magic bullet in fighting obesity but could have a big effect over time, says Margo Wootan, director of nutrition at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which advocates on nutrition and food safety issues “Obesity isn't the kind of thing where one day you wake up and you're fat. We gradually and slowly gain weight over time," she said. So even if only some people are swayed to make slightly better choices, Wootan thinks there's a big benefit to providing calorie information”. As we have learned in class, many of the well developed countries today struggle with obesity or some health related disease that could be linked to obesity such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease.
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