• When you next eat at McDonald's, here's an exercise in consumer choice:  Would you choose a Bacon Club House burger with 750 calories, a Big Mac with 550 calories, or the premium McWrap with bacon and grilled chicken giving you 460?
• You might think twice if you knew that one option gave you 300 calories more than another and, all by itself, proved you with over one third of the calories you need for the day (based on a 2,000 calorie diet).
• Beginning in the summer 2015, you'll be able to figure it out. That's when a provision in the Affordable Care Act that requires chain restaurants with 20 or more national outlets to reveal how many calories are in Big Macs, stuffed burritos and breakfast pastries takes effect. That labeling will allow customers to see how many calories contribute to their daily intake and maybe, just maybe, will help Americans eat healthier foods.
• While insurance for the uninsured has grabbed most of the headlines, good and bad, insurance coverage may not be the provision in the Affordable Care Act that will have the biggest on health. A way to pay for medical care is important, but my vote goes to the calorie labeling provisions. The FDA has also proposed in a rule implementing the law that calorie-labeling requirements should also apply to supermarkets and convenience stores serving ready-prepared foods.
• "I've been stunned by how many calories are in popular restaurant foods and how difficult it is to tell the difference between items," says Margot Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a food advocacy group. "There's a real difference between a regular hamburger at 200 to 300 calories, a bigger hamburger that has 400 to 500 calories and a triple burger with 700."
• Without calorie labeling, though, it's not always apparent which is the healthier choice. Sometimes, Wootan explains, a tuna salad sandwich has 50 percent more calories than one made with roast beef.  Why, I asked. A giant scoop of salad, which is all too common in such sandwiches, along with the mayo are the culprits. But only calorie labels will tell you that.
• We've had calorie labeling for several years in New York City, one of 18 localities and states that have passed labeling requirements. Not all have gone into effect because some jurisdictions have decided to wait for the federal law to kick in. As a consumer I appreciate the labels that prompt me to buy a banana at the airport in

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