Calorie-counting could soon be on the menu at a fast foot joint near you

The idea is that calorie information for each dish is given on the menus of all chain restaurants over a certain size, with New York, San Francisco and Seattle looking likely to be among the first to implement legislation on this front.

As ever this might be the thin end of the wedge as there has already been talk of 'food zoning' whereby new fast food joints are barred from opening up in those areas that suffer from high levels of obesity.

The argument against (in addition to restricting freedom of choice) is that people could end up basing their diets on these calorie counts alone, thereby cutting out other essential dietary components such as proteins and other nutrients.

With the legal teams building up in each camp it will be interesting to follow this one over the coming months especially from a retail perspective as this potential consumer-related legislation should not (for a change) have a direct impact on the sector even if it does make its way to these shores. But as for its impact on your own eating out habits, that's between you and your stomach.