Admit it, you know you love when you discover a store has those "skinny" mirrors in their dressing rooms. But what if you didn’t have to stand before a false reality in order to feel good about yourself? Now that there are “skinny” food menus, you just might be able to put an end to your love affair with illusory reflections. 

These menus are now ubiquitous in the culinary world. In years past, food labels were just marketing tools—bargaining chips, really—used to lure the hungry health-conscious into, what came to be, slightly overpriced options.

However, those competitive edges are soon to serve a very different role, that of FDA-mandated norms.

As of April 2013, a national menu labeling standard will be implemented nationwide. All restaurants (or similar retail food establishments) with at least 20 locations operating under the same name must brand every menu item with a calorie count and be able to provide additional information upon request. 

This won’t be foreign for many Americans come April. Many states, including California and Oregon, instituted the same or similar laws as early as 2010. 

According to Dan Roehl, Senior Director of Government Relations at the National Restaurant Association (NRA), unifying the states under the same law can only be to our benefit. He reveals that “the NRA, along with several member companies, advocated for a national, uniform standard for larger chain restaurants, so that customers have access to consistent nutrition information nationwide.”

The benefit lies within the passive-aggressiveness of the label information. The labels are there to mindfully attack the obesity crisis. With clear labels and equally appealing menu choices, conscience and stomach should find be able to find a happy compromise.

Speaking of comprimises, the FDA has still allocated some wiggle-room for restaurateurs. Roehl explains,“The Association is working to ensure restaurants have flexibility in implementing the new standard, including how the information is displayed on a menu or menu board.”

But exactly how much wiggle-room? Susan Dopart, M.S., R.D., C.D.E., a registered dietitian and exercise physiologist, doubts the accuracy and precision exhibited by at least twenty kitchens producing the same dish. “Every chef is going to make something a little different,” Dopart says. “Is a chef really going to put in exactly a tablespoon of olive oil — or three? Calorie-wise, that could make a huge difference.”

Dopart comments that if the FDA is truly eager to combat obesity in the USA, “[they] have to really look at the big picture rather than micromanaging the details. You have to treat the cause, not just the symptom … There is so much more that contributes to obesity and disease than large restaurant portions.”

Regardless of what other factors may be exacerbating the health of Americans, the FDA’s new rule is set to take action in less than a month. Then its effects, or possible lack thereof, will be felt by both businesses and bathroom scales. It may be that menu labeling proves to be a successful nuisance in obesity’s ear. Or it may have been just a nice idea. Either way, your coveted triple-sized, secret-sauced burger surely won’t look as appealing with a placeholder comma above it, will it? 

Reach Reporter Madeline Morris here.