Food consumption is often viewed by most consumers from the body weight perspective because it is the single most critical input from the diet that causes weight gain over a period of time if the intake of calories is more than the expenditure due to daily physical activity. Almost all labels on packed foods distinctly bring out the extent of total calories and calories from fat that can be expected by consuming the prescribed serving size. Recent moves in some countries to force all food serving agencies including theaters, food trucks, aviation sector etc to make calories declaration may serve the limited purpose of putting the consumers on an alert regarding the potential for weight gain by consuming high calorie food preparations. Insisting on these marginal players to comply with nutrition labeling regulations may be far fetched and it may not serve any purpose as these consumers are taking these foods only occasionally.
"So too with food, where calories count, but they are far from all that matters. Calories tell a truth about food, but nothing remotely like the WHOLE truth. This is an important consideration as mandatory calorie labeling expands from chain restaurants to other venues, such as theatres and airplanes. For instance, let's consider two orders of french fries. One is small and, say, 100 calories; the other is large and say, 350 calories. The calorie difference might encourage you to go with the smaller order. So far, so good. But now imagine that the small order of fries was prepared in trans fat, and the large order was prepared in a healthful oil. If they are fries on the same menu board, that's unlikely, I know -- but nonetheless indicative of the fact that calories don't tell all. Calorie counts are potentially valuable in helping you see the cost -- in calories -- of larger portions. But they tell you nothing about the return on that investment, in terms of either nutrition, or the fullness and satisfaction you are hoping to achieve. And the evidence suggests that while providing a reality check that does, at times, encourage the more moderate choice. Theeffect of posting calories is variable, and modest. One likely reason for this is that people don't generally eat to fill a calorie quota, they eat to fill themselves. If you like a large burger and fries, you might order a smaller version of each with the calories on display. But you might, then, finish and still want more. So maybe you order another, or maybe you eat something else just a little while later. Calories may have gone down at the time of the initial selection, without going down for the day".
It is very true that calorie number does not convey the full details regarding the quality of the food consumed vis-à-vis one's health and there are may other factors like the extent of fat calories, presence of trans fats, sodium level, sugar content, fiber content etc which also influence the effect of foods on health. But providing such information details in casual eating points is neither desirable nor practical. As it is rightly said eating is primarily a function of hunger and sensory pleasure and health considerations invariably are marginal especially with most consumers not aware of the dynamics of nutrition. Eating disorder involves many social, economical, environmental and psychological factors and no matter how efficiently labels are formatted, most consumers are unlikely to be persuaded to willingly give up high calorie/high fat foods till health disorders visit them with all their dangerous ramifications.
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