Nutrition information soon could join the daily specials

Show a group of nutritionists a 10-ounce restaurant hamburger and a side order of onion rings and have them calculate the number of calories in the meal. Easy, right?

Well, not exactly. Food experts consistently underestimated the 1,550-calorie meal -- by an average of 685 calories -- in a study of 200 dietitians by the Center for Science in the Public Interest and New York University.

"If well-trained food professionals can't accurately estimate calorie content in a plate of food, you can be sure the average consumer is at a loss when looking at a menu," said Claudia Malloy of CSPI in Washington, D.C., which co-sponsored the study and is lobbying to force restaurants to provide nutrition information on the foods they serve.

But a group of senior dietitics students at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau said few people are concerned about the calorie content of their food, despite the fact that obesity is a growing problem in America.

"People who eat fast food know they're 'eating bad' and don't want to know the calorie and fat content," said Angie Stiegemeyer.

Getting people to understand good nutrition and how to make better food choices is key, but it's hard because the public is inundated with nutrition information, said Jake Risk.

More than a half-dozen states are considering food labeling laws for chain and fast-food restaurants. No such bill has been proposed in Missouri, however. Some chain restaurants, from McDonald's to Subway, already make nutrition information available, although it's not always publicly posted.

Nutrition labeling bills may have gained momentum with the recent success of "Supersize Me," an Oscar-nominated documentary exposing the health risks of a fast-food diet, and publicity over a lawsuit blaming McDonald's for the obesity of teenage customers.

Dietitics students at Southeast know they have their work cut out for them.

"We don't have the money to market ourselves," Stiegemeyer said. Food-guide pyramids and nutrition information is readily available, she said, but few people are ever going to sit down with a nutritionist and talk about food choices.

Providing information

No one on either side of the issue believes posting calorie and fat content will produce drastic changes in what people eat. But proponents say such information could lead diners to make healthier selections and would provide sorely needed information to those with health problems who need special diets.

"When they purchase foods at restaurants, most people are using their instincts and their desire," said Daniel J. Hoffman, assistant professor of nutritional sciences at Cook College in New Brunswick, N.J., where a food labeling bill is being considered. "This is a nice compromise between telling people what they should eat when they're out at a restaurant and giving them information so they have the power to choose."

Yet Risk says that nutrition labels are often problematic because people don't really know what to look for.

"There's too much on the label and people don't know how to use them," he said. "We make it overcomplicated."

Most people have some basic knowledge of fats and carbohydrates, but "they have no idea about calories and what nutrients are for. Calories aren't the enemy," Risk said.

The dietitics students say they wouldn't oppose a bill that would require restaurants to post nutrition information, but that overall nutrition education is important. "It's about prevention rather than treatment," said Holly Gillespie.

Features editor Laura Johnston contributed to this report.