Calories on menus would combat obesity.

Including calorie information on fast food and chain restaurant menus would make a sizable dent in the nation's obesity problem, according to a study in the September issue of AJPH.

Using the population of Los Angeles County as a sample population, the study researchers found that if calorie information was regularly displayed on such menus, almost 41 percent of the annual weight gain experienced by county residents could be avoided.

"Substantially larger impacts would be realized if higher percentages of restaurant patrons ordered reduced-calorie meals or if the magnitude of the average per-meal calorie reduction was increased," the study researchers wrote.

The researchers reached their conclusions with the aid of previous studies that showed that 10 percent of people decreased their selection of high-calorie food when presented with nutritional information when buying chain restaurant meals, leading to an intake of 100 fewer calories per person.

Currently, only a few jurisdictions nationwide mandate nutrition information on menus, with most restaurants providing such information online, by request or in locations that are not readily visible when placing food orders, the study noted. (Page 1,680)