Coming soon: Calorie counts on Ontario restaurant menus?

Do you really want to order that raisin bran muffin?

Health Minister Deb Matthews wants you to think twice before chowing down.

If legislation introduced by Matthews is passed, expect to see calorie counts posted at your favourite chain restaurants.

That fancy blended-coffee drink? You won't be able to order it without knowing exactly how badly you're cheating on your diet.

"We are focusing on calories because that's the single best proxy up for the issue we are trying to tackle — childhood obesity," Matthews says.

Fast food outlets, restaurants, supermarkets and convenience stores with 20 or more locations in Ontario who do more than $5 million in business annually will be required to post caloric information for all food and beverages — including alcoholic ones — on all menus.

Also see: Do calorie counts on menus work?

And we're not talking about tiny, barely-there font, either. The caloric information will be required to be the same size as the price.

"I want this to be really easy for consumers," Matthews told reporters on Monday.

"A raisin bran muffin from Tim Hortons has more calories than a cheeseburger. When people start to realize that, they’ll make different choices and the restaurants will also make different choices," she says. "They'll rethink what's on their menu and in their recipes when that information is front and centre for consumers."

Restaurants that fail to comply could be fined between $500 and $10,000.

And still, some health groups don't believe the calorie counts are enough. They want sodium, trans fat and sugar amounts also revealed.

Matthews doesn't disagree, but doesn't want to overload customers with too much information, either.

"I think by adding calories right up there with the price, that’s important information that addresses the primary motivation behind this," she says. "I just worry about information overload that will result in it being ignored."

Will the strategy work? Critics aren't so sure.

Also see: Are calorie counts on food labels accurate?

In New York City, after the city made calorie-posting mandatory, a study revealed that customers actually bought fast food with slightly more calories than average.

The Progressive Conservatives' health critic, Christine Elliott, points out that most restaurant chains already provide detailed nutritional information on websites, posters and brochures.

"Some people have said that this is really a solution in search of a problem, that we're dealing with a situation that's already been dealt with," she says.

The Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association argues that the calorie counts are too simplistic and could be confusing — especially at chains that offer customizable dishes.

"There could be 10,000 ways to make a pizza. How do you put that out there?" says James Rilett, the CRFA’s vice-president for Ontario. "It's not simply just stick a number up there and people will understand it."

The Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association is confused by the calorie counts for alcoholic beverages considering the goal of the legislation is to curb childhood obesity.

And not every parent is convinced calorie counts will do much to decrease childhood obesity.

Also see: Should Canadians get nutrition labels on their booze?

"As a parent, I’m skeptical," Ottawa mother and blogger Conseulo Bernardi tells the Ottawa Citizen. "Eating right and watching fat and sodium intake and calories is 50 per cent of the solution. The other 50 per cent is parents getting their kids to be active and exercising."

Besides, if you're a regular at McDonald's, "health-consciousness is probably not top of mind, anyway," writes Toronto Life's Jean Grant, "and those who only indulge occasionally are unlikely to need the reminder in the first place."

"Plus, we suspect few people actively delude themselves into thinking their Whopper meal is a well-rounded dinner choice, whether or not the scary nutritional stats are front and centre."

Seventeen restaurant companies are, in fact, taking things beyond Matthews's proposal by signing up for the voluntary Informed Dining Program, which provides information on calories and 13 core nutrients for their menu items.

Leading brands like A&W, Dairy Queen, Harvey’s, McDonald’s, Milestones, Montana’s, Pizza Pizza, Quiznos, Swiss Chalet and Tim Hortons have committed to implement the program by the end of the year.

"What we are hearing from our members echoes what we are seeing from independent, third-party research: Canadians want more than just a calorie count," says Garth Whyte, President and CEO of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association. "They are interested in a variety of nutrition information and they don’t believe that it belongs on a restaurant’s menu or menu board."

Also see: Beware of this word on fast food menu items

"Our responsibility is to provide customers with the information they need to make informed dining choices, and what they are telling us they need varies tremendously from one person to the next," he continues. "The Informed Dining program provides the information Canadians are looking for in a manner that is accessible, visible and presented in a consistent way across the country."

One Toronto dietitian argues that if we really want to make dining out at more waistline-friendly experience, we're going to need to start making healthy choices and creating a demand for better menu items.

"The restaurant industry wants its customers to be happy. Ask for what you want. Ask for more vegetables. Ask for half an order of french fries. Ask for smaller portions. As they come to better understand and hear what people want over and over again, they're going to deliver it," Carol Harrison tells The Canadian Press.

"The other thing is we've got to put our money where our mouth is and start ordering these things as well. It's a lot of work for the restaurant industry to change menus and ingredients and source recipes and so it's important to then make those choices if we're going to ask for them."

Would calorie counts on a menu stop you from ordering cheesecake for dessert?