Posted: Friday, February 1, 2008

ACSH IN THE NEWS
Publication Date: February 1, 2008

A February piece by the Heartland Institute's Melissa Mercer on New York City's calorie-count mandate for restaurants notes the skepticism of ACSH's Dr. Ruth Kava:

If approved, the ordinance would affect only 10% of the city's 23,000 restaurants, according to a statement issued by the Department of Health.

"It [seems] unfair -- there are many other restaurants that won't be touched by this regulation," said Ruth Kava, director of nutrition at the Manhattan-based American Council on Science and Health...

"It does no good to just tell people a calorie count if they don't know what to do with that number," Kava said. "Is a 500 calorie sandwich too many calories? [Is it] too little? It depends on how many calories that person should be consuming per day, and I doubt that most people have a good idea of their own caloric needs.

"I don't think [the legislation is] useful," Kava concluded, "and I don't think it will help the obesity problem in this country."