Multnomah County (Oregon) commissioners have approved a new set of rules that will require chain restaurants to include calorie counts on their menus. The measure is intended to slow the worrying trend of increasing obesity.

 

According to the rules, which take effect March 12, Portland-area restaurants with more than 15 locations nationwide would have to post calorie info on their menus. The law will affect about 500 restaurants.

 

It is hoped that by adding these calorie counts on the menus, people will be more informed on what they are eating and therefore will make healthier selections.

“Most important, consumers can now make reasonable decisions about what they order armed with correct information,” Commissioner Jeff Cogen was quoted as saying.

 

With this decision, Multnomah County joins New York City, San Francisco and Seattle and becomes the fourth place in the nation to require restaurants to include calories counts on their menus, menu boards, drive-thru order boards and food tags at buffets and coffee shops. Other states that are considering menu labeling laws include Indiana, South Carolina, Florida, Minnesota, Massachusetts.

 

According to the latest statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity is continuously growing in the US, affecting more than one in four adults.

Childhood obesity rates are very high in the U.S. and they did not drop despite efforts to curb unhealthy eating habits and inform people about the potentially life-threatening dangers associated with obesity. Obesity causes a wide range of health problems, such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, sleep apnea and osteoarthritis, including an increased risk of cancer.