Poll finds strong support for calorie listings

A public-interest health group fired back at the Obama administration Monday with a poll showing wide support for calorie listings in movie theaters and other venues that would be exempted from the disclosure under a new federal rule.

The release comes as the obesity crisis, and regulatory attempts to fight it, dominate the headlines.

Seventy percent of Americans want movie theaters to list calorie counts on their menu boards, and 68 percent want that information posted for alcoholic beverages in chain restaurants, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).

"Americans just want to know what they’re eating," said the group's nutrition policy director, Margo G. Wootan. "It doesn’t make sense to create loopholes for certain companies, when that’s not what Congress intended and it’s not what people want."

Wootan was referring to the 2010 healthcare law, which established calorie labeling across many venues that would not be included under the final rule.

CSPI noted in a release that the restaurant lobby, with which it is often at odds, agrees that calorie-labeling rules should not discriminate between food vendors.

"We believe the Proposed Rule arbitrarily and unjustifiably excludes establishments that are not only similar to, but actually function as, restaurants," the National Restaurant Association wrote to federal regulators in reference to the rule.

According to the release, the poll was conducted from May 24 to 27 and surveyed 1,012 adults.