AMA asks fast-food chains to post nutrition facts

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The American Medical Association said on Wednesday it wants fast-food and chain restaurants to add nutritional information to menus and menu boards as part of an effort to combat obesity in the United States.

The influential physicians' group said the information should be easy to understand and include calorie, fat, saturated fat, trans fat, and sodium content.

"One of the key things to address in the obesity epidemic is that people know what they're eating," AMA President Dr. Ronald Davis told reporters at a news briefing.

"We would like voluntary action now, but we will also be calling for policies ... at the local, state and national levels to require chains to do this," Davis said.

He noted the privately held Subway fast-food chain already lists grams of fat on its menu board.

"We would like to see other restaurant chains doing that voluntarily. We also would like to see other detailed information on their menus, where there is more room -- information like calories, grams of fat, grams of sodium and so on," Davis said.

Davis said Baja Fresh Mexican Grill, a Thousand Oaks, California restaurant chain, already includes such information in their menus.

"This resolution says that on the menu boards, where space is limited, at least you could put calories in addition to price," he said.