Oct 6, 2008 6:58 pm US/Central
NYC Subway Ads To Feature Calorie Counts
Radical Idea Is Just Latest In Series Of Off-Beat Campaigns
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Commuters on hundreds of subway cars will be getting some food for thought.
The New York City Health Department is expanding its healthy-eating campaign with subway ads that say most adults should limit themselves to 2,000 calories day.
Posters that appeared Monday in about 1,000 subway cars provide calorie counts for several menu items -- like 470 for a giant apple bran muffin or 1,170 for a chicken burrito with toppings.
The three-month ad campaign is intended to build on the city's new regulation requiring chain restaurants to post calorie counts on their menus. Officials are betting people will consume fewer calories if they know how many they should consume.
"Small changes in your choices can make a big difference in your calorie intake," assistant health commissioner Dr. Lynn Silver said.
"We're seeing 1 in 3 New Yorkers walking out of fast food restaurants with more than half of their calories per day at lunchtime, and that's too much."
The ads are in 20 percent of city subway cars.
Natalia Kaplan, of Queens, said she hadn't noticed the poster directly behind her on an E train featuring that 1,170-calorie burrito, but she approved of the campaign.
"It makes you aware," said Kaplan, who said she pays close attention to the calorie information fast-food chains are now required to provide.
"If I go to Dunkin' Donuts, I look at the calories, and I try to take the least-calorie doughnut," she said.
The calorie-posting rule applies to chain restaurants that have 15 or more locations nationwide. It took effect in May, but legal action delayed enforcement until July.
Health Department surveys have found that patrons who use calorie information in deciding what to order average nearly 100 fewer calories per meal than they would have without the information available.
Silver said telling people how many calories they should consume is the next logical step.
The 2,000-calorie figure is an average. Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations vary by age, gender and level of activity. Men can consume more calories than women without gaining weight, and 20-year-olds more than 60-year-olds.
New York City's calorie-count regulation has paved the way for similar laws elsewhere. California last week became the first state to require restaurant chains to reveal how many calories are in their standard menu items.
Starting next July 1, chain eateries in California can either list calorie counts on menus or menu boards, or provide brochures disclosing the calories, fat, salt and carbohydrates in the dishes and drinks offered during at least half the year. Beginning in 2011, the calorie counts in standard menu items have to be listed on menus and indoor menu boards.
The New York State Restaurant Association filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the New York City regulation; the case is pending in federal court. Spokesman Chuck Hunt said association members have incurred significant costs in complying with the rule.
Hunt said he had not seen the new subway ads.
"It's part of their ongoing campaign to try to get people to have healthier diets," he said. "I sometimes get the feeling that the health department is trying to step in for moms and dads a little bit."
Just last week, the cash-strapped Metropolitan Transportation Authority unveiled its first subway car to be fully wrapped in advertising.
A midtown Manhattan shuttle train, which runs between Grand Central Terminal and Times Square, is now ensconced in advertising for The History Channel.
The MTA faces a projected deficit next year of nearly $900 million. In recent years it has raised fares for subways, buses and two regional rail lines and tolls for bridges.
It also has begun exploring the possibility of cutting subway, bus and commuter rail service.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
