A federal court has upheld a decision by the New York City to require calories to be posted on the menu boards of some chain restaurants. The law takes effect on Monday and applies to restaurants that have more than 15 outlets across the country.

"It seems reasonable to expect that some consumers will use the information disclosed ... to select lower calorie meals ... and these choices will lead to a lower incidence of obesity," U.S. District Judge Richard Holwell said, per AP.

"We are obviously disappointed in the judge’s ruling. We still believe each restaurant should make decisions about the best way to make nutritional information available to their customers," said a New York State Restaurant Association spokesperson quoted by NY1.com.

New Yorkers are gaining weight and being diagnosed with diabetes at a higher rate than the rest of the nation, a new study by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reveals.

Published in the April issue of Preventing Chronic Disease, a medical journal of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the study found that “the citywide weight gain totaled more than 10 million pounds in just two years,” between 2002 and 2004.

Obesity increased by 20 percent among whites and by 14 percent among Hispanics in New York City compared with 7 percent nationally. Foreign-born New Yorkers experienced the sharpest increase in obesity at 33 percent since 2002, meaning that 22.4 percent of that population is obese.

The number of diabetes diagnosis also jumped 17 percent in New York, while the rate in the rest of the country stayed the same.