One clause in the new healthcare bill, passed back in March, requires that restaurants clearly post calories and other nutritional data on their menus. New regulations from the Food and Drug Administration spell out the changes, but restaurants are dragging their feet.

The new rules, which the FDA announced last month, target big chain restaurants – businesses with 20 or more locations. They’ll be required to post calorie information on their menus in the same size print as the item name or price. Also affected will be vending machines, which will have to make nutritional info “clear and conspicuous”.

Public health experts are pleased. According to Margo Wootan, the director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, “It’s going to help a lot of people watch their waistlines and calories.” And that’s good news. But here at ZocDoc, we understand that designing and following a healthy diet is easier said than done. If you’re trying to lose weight, consider making your first stop  a doctor or a preventive medicine specialist. We can help get you started off right.

The regulations are part of the national effort against obesity spearheaded by Michelle Obama, and they couldn’t come at a better time. Two out of three Americans are overweight or obese, and about a third of our calories come from outside the home. Furthermore, the evidence shows that Americans do a pretty bad job guessing how many calories are in our food. But the largest fast-food chains, like McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, are wary that posting prominent nutritional info will affect their sales, and are resisting the regulations.

At any rate, the FDA isn’t doing anything to enforce the new rules until March of next year. (So don’t panic! You have seven more months for guilt-free take-out.)