New law helps you count calories

PINELLAS PARK - A new law, courtesy of the health care reform bill, requires restaurant chains to tell customers the individual calorie counts of each dish on the menu.

Some people grabbing Lunch at Pinellas “Park's Quaker Steak and Lube” think that could influence their choices.

"I think it would because you look at the numbers and you're like, ‘Whoa! I'm putting that into my body. That's not helping me,’" said Michele Bergeron.

But most diners are unimpressed.

"I won't look at it," Erin Vogel admits. "I'll eat what I want. They can put it out there for other people who do. I know a lot of people that do count the calories."

The way Rob Voege figures it

"If I want to make sure of what I'm eating calorie-wise, I'll eat at home,” said Rob Voege. “I'm here because the wings are good. Food’s good, I'm not worried about what's in it right now."

Pinellas Extension service registered dietician Nan Jensen thinks education will have to accompany the calorie information.

"One of the things that I find as I educate various audiences is that people really don't have a clue about what they need to consume in a day,” she said. “If they want lose weight- or gain weight for that matter- they really don't have a very clear-cut understanding of what their calorie needs are."

So, according to Jensen, the only way the new calorie count program is going to work is if the government also educates people on healthy food decisions.