Coming to McDonald's: Calorie Counts

And maybe, maybe, grilled McNuggets
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 12, 2012 2:40 PM CDT
Coming to McDonald's: Calorie Counts
Items on the breakfast menu, including the calories, are posted at a McDonald's restaurant, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012 in New York.   (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Bad news for those of you who like to eat your fast food in ignorance: McDonald's is adding calorie counts to its menu boards next week. That means that soon, there will be no escaping the knowledge that a Big Mac packs 550 calories, NPR reports. And, in another health push, the chain may overhaul its deep-fried McNuggets (280 calories in six pieces). Yes, you could soon see grilled McNuggets on the menu, a VP says.

But "it's not as easy as you would think," he adds, because kids really like the fried version. Other healthier options, including wraps and smoothies, are also in the works. As for the calorie counts—which will likely soon be required by US law anyway as part of ObamaCare—studies show they may not make much difference in consumers' choices, and the president of McDonald's USA acknowledges that in places where they're already posted, they haven't made a difference in ordering habits, the AP reports. (More Chicken McNuggets stories.)

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