Calorie Info Now Following You Down Into the Subway

Not satisfied with making sure New Yorkers know exactly how fat they're going to get off food at chain restaurants, the Health Department is taking its calorie crusade underground with a new educational campaign that launches today. The posters confirm your worst suspicions about fast food and also expose deceptively harmless snacks, like a perfectly innocent-looking apple raisin muffin, for the high-calorie frauds they are. That cute little muffin packs 470 calories—nearly a quarter of your daily allowance, which officials put at 2,600 calories a day for adult men, and 2,000 for adult women. (Sorry, ladies.)

The ad campaign is an extension of the city's recently-enacted law requiring restaurants with more than 15 locations nationwide to prominently display their calorie information on all food and beverages. With this new nutrition hectoring in the transit system, there's now one less place for obese New Yorkers to bliss out in ignorance. (Up next, mandatory calorie-count tattoos!) The Health Department says the $82,000 campaign, lasting through January, will help reduce the number of people who suffer from obesity by 150,000 over the next five years, preventing more than 30,000 cases of diabetes. Of course, nothing—nothing—will ever stop people from stinking up entire subway cars with Chinese dinners, buckets of fried chicken, and McDonald's fries.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in Food on October 6, 2008 1:46 PM

Comments [rss]

Kevin Walsh

I will eat as I please, I don't care what Bloomberg and Lauder say.

www.forgotten-ny.com

MFer

Calorie counting is stupid. And it doesn't work. Diet soda is worse for your health than regular soda.

"Bring out number, weight and measure in a year of dearth." -Blake

joeb

Very smart. People always rationalize eating too much by saying "oh, salad is for hippies/rabbits/models/etc". But it's not all or nothing. You can eat things that aren't celery and still not stuff your face obscenely.

HUGO_MEGO

You can have a roast beef sandwich with mayo and that will beat the tuna.

Steven

Cheap food.

babyhitler

why do people eat fast food anyway? they got rid of transfats, which made the food taste good. now it tastes like shit.

heycarrieann

Good point Pontiac, I think that type of comparsion is a good idea, but if I order cheese fries, I know I'm ordering crap, and that's totally on me.

HenryKrinkle

Are they going to translate these into 7 different languages? Seems a bit unfair for those residents who cannot speak the language so well

spiritross

As someone who has difficulty gaining weight

I take personal offense to this ad campaign

I average 3000+ calories a day but since I am constantly moving and have a high metabolism it does nothing

The mayor's office will be noticed of this prejudice and politically incorrect campaign that offends thin people citywide

For shame

babyhitler

I eat 3000 calories a day and I'm svelt like hell. Of course i bike the island of manhattan up and down, use my ablounge xl and my pushup pros too. my Infomercial gym works.

ed_Extinct

this new NYC campaign has been great!

Nyctini11

Good, i think the subway is the perfect place to have these ads. As a daily subway/bus commuter, I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOO TIRED of having to stand while someone taking up 2.5 riders worth of seating sits their fat ass down, when they should be the ones standing & trying to burn calories. Please read these ads and start doing your part to make a difference. Do it for NY!

robingee

The mayo is the death sentence... I think Subway might use low-fat mayo but I am not sure. And taking the mayo off of any sandwich and using honey mustard instead is a big improvement.

townsendyoung

It's simple...people don't have to change their diet completely, but simply make more educated choices when it comes to food.

Coincidentally, my friend Ryosuke works as an art director for the agency that created these, Bandujo Advertising. Just thought I'd give him some props.

Really does make you question those burritos, though.

TK

How many calories are in a cigarette and cup of coffee?

JenChungsBaby

It's the mayo, Gina, the mayo will always get you. Almost half the fat 15 percent of the calories in a Whopper are from the mayo. Just say "Hold the mayo."

aveB4life

the burrito is the best one on there. there's always room for a second burrito for dinner. you just eat an apple (or something else that is healthy) to cancel out half the lunch burrito.

Gina Gemini

How can a tuna sub have more calories than a roast beef sub? I thought fish had less calories than red meat. Maybe it's because of the mayonnaise in the tuna salad? And roast beef is lean meat? I don't know.

(I do love a good tuna salad sandwich!)