EDITORIAL TRANS FAT CITY NOW L.A. OFFICIALS WANT TO TELL PEOPLE WHAT TO EAT.

TAKING their lead from New York City, some Los Angeles City Council members want to enact a citywide ban on trans fat in restaurants.

Councilmen Jose Huizar and Tom LaBonge asked for the city staff to draw up a report exploring the feasibility of such a ban in Los Angeles restaurants. While they're pursuing bad ideas, they should maybe look at telling restaurants what to put on their menus every day to help us solve our obesity problem.

Not only does the City of Angels need to stop trying to emulate NYC, but there's really no need to protect consumers from this worrisome substance found in restaurants and prepackaged foods. The market forces are already doing that.

Trans fats are manufactured fats using hydrogenated oils. They make french fries and other foods taste better, but they also increase levels of bad cholesterol. There is growing consensus that trans fats, while adding nothing beneficial to the diet, might actually be a factor in coronary heart disease.

Ever since the Food and Drug Administration required food makers to start reporting trans fat content on food labels, companies have chosen to eliminated trans fats as a marketing tool. Sunshine really is the best change agent.

Consumers might not realize exactly why trans fat is undesirable to consume. But when KFC and other savvy food companies are selling their products by trumpeting no trans fats, you can bet they get the message.

And, indeed, they are. Consumers are making purchasing decisions more and more on the trans-fat issue. And soon companies will realize the savings they achieve by using trans fat is not worth the negativity associated with the substance.

Besides, Los Angeles leaders need to stop looking east for direction. This is the city that pioneered healthy diet and lifestyles, and consumer pressure alone will do here what New York legislators had to do by force.