A tub of calories

Opinion: April 7, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

Los Angeles Times: Movie theaters are making a melodrama out of a molehill by resisting a proposal to inform customers about the calories in concession stand snacks. We’re no fans of the nanny state; people should decide for themselves what they want to eat and drink. But part of empowering consumers to make smart decisions is giving them basic information, and that includes the fact that a large popcorn might contain more calories than they’re supposed to eat in an entire day.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration should go ahead with its proposal to require large-chain theaters to post or otherwise provide that information. The regulations, which would also cover such items as soda and hot dogs, don’t need to be onerous. Calorie counts could be posted on the price board.

Theater owners complain that they aren’t running chain restaurants — which under federal health-care law must give customers calorie information — but entertainment venues that happen to sell prepared food. That line isn’t clever enough to hide the reality that theaters make a hefty portion of their money on the big markups at their food stands; how else could a cup of ice with a little soda come in at $4.50? And the best “bargain”... is the giant, refillable buckets of popcorn.

Air-popped popcorn is actually a low-calorie and relatively healthy whole-grain snack — about 240 calories for a half-gallon, plus a decent dose of fiber. But as various studies have found, theater popcorn generally is made with plenty of oil.