Do you have any data to back this up?  Or are you just pulling random BS numbers out of the air (or other, less hygenic regions)?  'Cause to be honest, I'm betting on the latter.  You are going to have to find some serious solid evidence to support that idiotic claim, because even the slightest bit of insight into how much obestiy and smoking cost the Government (in terms of Medicare and Medicaid, as well as lost wages due to illness=lost taxes) argue against your statement.

I look forward to your fact-filled reply.  Or perhaps you will do what you do best, be elusive when someone calls you on your bull crap.

As to the article itself, I sit somewhere in between.  I don't necessarily think Government should mandate, though I think from a public health standpoint it is an excellent idea.  I think many of us would be startled to know that, for example, that Bloomin Onion offered as an appetizer to the meal actually has >2300 calories.  I don't see restaraunts making it easier for the public to make educated decisions as a bad thing.

Be well.

If someone says that the flying spaghetti monster created the universe and I choose not to respond that doesn't, by default, make the hypothesis true or accepted.

Didn't Tex's post make it clear that different restaurants and portion sizes can have vastly different calorie counts? 

I think you missed the point actually. Fettucine Alfredo is Fettucine Alfredo no matter where you go. The difference is how the cook adds the ingredients. I seriously doubt that, unless made with low calorie ingredients, that Fettucine Alfredo will have major calorie count changes from restaurant to restaurant. If one restaurant says it has 325 calories, then chances are it will range between 300 and 350 betwen most restaurants. Again, if the ingredients used are of very low calories, they usually call it the "Lite" menu or some other catchy name. See my point?

If people actually cared about how many calories they consume a day, most major fast food chains, potatoe chip companies, candy bar companies, etc would be out of business. We are not a fat nation because we educate ourselves in calories but ignore them for the tasty food fast food places and most restaurants serve. We are because even thought the Media has drilled it into out daily lives how bad most of this food is most people just don't care enough since people are not dying left and right because of it. Hell, people don't even consider the possibilities of not only how bad this food can be fore you but the conditions of the kitchens making the food. A New York KFC was once found to be infested with rats, KFC is still alive and kicking. A lady sued Wendy's because she claimed to have found a rats head in her chilli, she won yet chilli remains of of Wendy's best sellers. I can go on but I'm sure you get the point.

Again i point out this is all about being lazy. We complain about our children not getting the proper education while in school yet we do everything we can to avoid learning things as adults. Maybe everyone should watch the movie Wall-E and take in what happened to the human race that had to leave Earth and llive in space till Earth was livable again. They all got fat and lazy. Fat because they go lazy. I wonder why? I also recommend Idiocracy and tell me that movie does not send chills up your spine that such a thing could be even remotely possible in real life.

I’ve found that you can cut the calories in half for most dishes with no loss of tastiness and if the calories are on the menu it would become at least a consideration for them. Quite a few restaurants have low fat versions of their dishes on the menu but no actual calorie count for ether. Most just say to themselves “I’m paying a premium how much more calories can the hi test version have”, well I think they should be told. 

Granted, I don't eat well enough. I take a diet based more on how, rather than what I eat, and it works for me. (With no exercise, either, mind you)