In an attempt to reduce the number of obese and overweight people, large chain restaurants in the city of Los Angeles would have to provide nutritional information on printed menus and menu boards.

The California Assembly approved the measure last month. According to it, restaurants with 20 or more locations in the state would have to post calorie information on their menus and menu boards.

If Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signs the bill, it will take full effect in 2011, making California the first state to require restaurant chains to show calorie counts of their menu offerings.

Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar, the author of the motion, said the bill will help parents be more informed on what their kids are eating and also will prevent obesity among children and adults. The restaurants would have to post on their menus grams of trans fat, calories, grams of saturated fats, carbohydrates and other value information for people’s health. The rule would apply to more than 17,000 chain restaurants.

“This ordinance will simply give families the same kind of nutritional information they get when they shop at a supermarket,” Huizar said.

It is already known that obesity has turned into a real epidemic in the United States, being the cause for other major diseases such as diabetes or heart diseases. Obesity is also causing complications in pregnancies and other conditions.