Going out to eat in fast food chains is often a disaster for the waistline. Chain restaurants in many states of USA started displaying calories with their menus. In fact, the Governments in many states in USA are enacting legislations to force the calorie displays of food items in major chains. Chain restaurants in California were just forced to display the calorie content of their menus under legislation signed by governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on November 12th 2008.

The calorie values of most fast foods are of enormous, even unexpectedly high values. "It’s just the most astonishing thing I’ve ever seen," says Marion Nestle from New York University. Professor Nestle is an academic nutritionist with decades of experience advising on nutrition issues. Yet, since calories have been posted on menus in New York she has been surprised. "For someone like me who thinks that they know about these things, I’m stunned by the number of calories in fast foods. I had no idea." As examples, she cites a blueberry and pomegranate smoothie that provides 1180 kcal (4.9 MJ) and a pizza for one person with more than 2000 kcal (8.3 MJ). We should read this together with the fact that normal value of calories required for a sedentary worker is 2000 kCal, for his whole day energy requirements.