• 60 Minutes, Monday, November 19, 2007 12 PM

One of the most powerful health officials in the country--New York's health commissioner, Thomas Frieden--wants to force chain restaurants like McDonald's and Wendy's to spell out exactly how fattening their food is on the menu board when consumers order. The idea is gaining support nationwide, but also faces fierce opposition from the restaurant industry itself.

Frieden wants people to see that some combo meals, like one from Burger King, pack 2,200 calories--more calories than many adults need in a day. Some Starbucks drinks are more fattening than Big Macs. Brian Wansink, a nutrition and marketing professor at Cornell University who wrote a book called "Mindless Eating," finds that people always underestimate calories, but they get it especially wrong when they're eating something they think is healthy.

The calorie labeling in New York would not apply to "calorie Meccas" like Chinese restaurants, which don't already publish nutritional information about their food. Wendy's spokesperson Denny Lynch says that's unfair. "In essence, you are penalizing the restaurant chains that are voluntarily providing information," he argues.

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