Weighing the Value of Information: Why the Federal Government Should Require Nutrition Labeling for Food Served in Restaurants

Obesity has become a growing public health concern in the United States. State and local policymakers, as well as the federal government, have proposed and implemented a variety of measures to curb consumption of unhealthy food and promote healthy lifestyles. Providing nutrition information to consumers is one strategy that has been implemented, most notably in the Nutritional Labeling and Education Act of 1990. Such a strategy should again be employed to address overconsumption and over-marketing of high calorie food at restaurants, as well as to remedy the patchwork of menu labeling requirements that has been created in recent years and continues to expand. This Comment uses an interdisciplinary approach to weigh the regulatory design options available to lawmakers to address obesity, and particularly, the role consumption of restaurant food plays in contributing to obesity