(1) research continues to reveal that--
(A) there is a strong link between diet and health; and
(B) diet-related diseases start early in life;
(2)(A) increased caloric intake is a key factor contributing to the alarming increase in obesity in the United States;
(B) Americans’ average calorie intake increased by approximately 200 calories per day between 1977 and 1996, with restaurant and fast food accounting for the fastest growing source of those calories;
(C) according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2/3 of American adults is overweight or obese, and an estimated 34 percent of children and adolescents aged 2 to 19 is overweight or obese;
(D) obesity increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, several types of cancer, and other health problems; and
(E) the annual cost of obesity to families, businesses, and governments in the United States is $123,000,000,000, half of which is paid through Medicare and Medicaid;
(3) over the past 2 decades, there has been a significant increase in the number of meals prepared or eaten outside the home, with an estimated 1/3 of calories and almost half of total food dollars being spent on food purchased from or eaten at restaurants and other food-service establishments;
(4) studies link eating outside the home with obesity and higher caloric intakes, and children eat almost twice as many calories when they eat a meal at a restaurant compared to a meal they eat at home;
(5)(A) excess saturated fat intake is a major risk factor for heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in the United States; and
(B) heart disease is a leading cause of disability among working adults and its impact on the United States economy is significant, estimated in 2008 to total $156,400,000,000 in healthcare expenditures and lost productivity;
(6)(A) increased sodium intake is associated with increased risk of high blood pressure, or hypertension, a condition that can lead to cardiovascular disease, especially stroke; and
(B) the proportion of adults with high blood pressure is 45 percent at age 50, 60 percent at age 60, and more than 70 percent at age 70;
(7) the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-535) requires food manufacturers to provide nutrition information on almost all packaged foods; however, restaurant foods are exempt from those requirements unless a nutrient content or health claim is made for a menu item;
(8)(A) about 75 percent of adults reports using food labels on packaged foods, which is associated with eating more healthful diets, and approximately half of adults reports that the nutrition information on food labels has caused them to change their minds about buying a food product; and
(B) studies have shown that the provision of nutrition information for away-from-home foods has a positive influence on food purchase decisions;
(9) an important benefit of mandatory nutrition labeling on packaged foods has been the reformulation of existing products and the introduction of new, nutritionally-improved products, such as trans fat labeling on packaged food that led many packaged food companies to reformulate their products to remove trans fat;
(10)(A) because people have a right to information, companies are required to provide information regarding the fuel-efficiency of automobiles, what clothes are made of, care instructions for clothing, and energy and water consumption of certain home appliances; and
(B) people need nutritional information to manage their weight and reduce the risk of, or manage, heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure, which are leading causes of death, disability, and high health care costs;
(11)(A) it is difficult for consumers to exercise personal responsibility and limit their intake of calories at restaurants, given the limited availability of nutrition information at the point of ordering in restaurants;
(B) standard portion sizes in fast food and chain restaurants have grown since the 1970s; and
(C) several studies show that people are unable to identify from among popular fast food and other chain restaurant menu items those items with the fewest, and those items with the most, calories;
(12) the Food and Drug Administration, Surgeon General, Department of Health and Human Services, National Cancer Institute, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, and American Medical Association recommend that there be increased availability of nutrition information for foods eaten and prepared away from home; and
(13) menu labeling policies have been introduced in more than 30 States and localities, and menu labeling policies have passed in California; New York City; Multnomah County (Portland), Oregon; King County (Seattle), Washington; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.