Mandating franchise restaurants to display nutritional information on their menus will help consumers to be more health-conscious of what they eat and reduce obesity-related illnesses.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 1420, which will require all franchised restaurants in California to display the total number of calories, grams of saturated fat, trans fat, carbohydrates and milligrams of sodium. This law will be implemented in 2011.

The bill was first introduced because the number of Americans eating out has significantly increased in the last two decades. According to the bill, 46 percent of total food dollars spent are at restaurants or other food facilities.

The bill states that “consumers should be provided with point of purchase access to nutritional information when eating out in order to make informed decisions involving their health and diet.”

For example, diabetics and people with cardiovascular problems must watch what they eat, such as their sodium intake.

It is hard for to guess how much sodium and grams of fat are in their entree if the restaurant does not display such information.

In addition, SB 1420 was writen to reduce obesity among young Americans. According to the Center For Disease Control and Prevention, obesity in children and teenagers have tripled since 1980.

By disclosing nutritional information, these young people are able to make appropriate decisions and understand which dishes would be best for them based on the 2,000 calorie-a-day recommendation, which the restaurants are also going to post on their menus.

By being well-informed of what they are consuming, diners can do their part to avoiding illnesses that are associated with obesity, such as stroke and heart attack.

Those who do not care to know what is in their food can easily skip through the numbers and can order a cheeseburger with chili cheese fries and a large Coca-Cola.

Those who are a bit more health conscious can read the facts and order a chicken sandwich with regular fries and a Diet Coke instead.

The law will create a statewide standard among restaurants rather than having different laws depending on which county or city they are located.

This is the reason why SB 1420 was supported by the California Restaurant Association before it became a law.

This law will unify the restaurant system and provide an option for consumers to a make healthy decision.