McDonalds to post calorie details on US menus to help tackle obesity

McDonald’s is to begin posting calorie information on menu boards at its US stores next week as it works to stem criticism that its food causes obesity.

The chain will also test healthier items, such as egg-white breakfast sandwiches, 350-calorie sweet chilli chicken wraps and more produce side items, to add to its menu in 2013, Oak Brook, Illinois-based McDonald’s said yesterday. Calorie counts will be listed on menus inside restaurants and at drive- through windows, the company said.

“We feel it’s important to do this for our customers,” said Jan Fields, president of McDonald’s USA, at a press event in Washington. “Calories are just part of the story.” The burger seller is making efforts to improve nutrition and disclose more about its food after being criticised for selling unhealthy items amid a national obesity epidemic. More than one-third of adults and about 17% of children are considered obese in the US, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.