Nashville health board puts off calorie count menus

DAVIDSON COUNTY If you were dying to see Davidson County restaurant chains post in bold print that your favorite fast-food cheeseburger has 700 calories and 32 grams of fat, you'll have to wait a little longer. That was supposed to happen on March 31, when chains with 15 locations or more would have to alert customers on menus and menu boards to the calorie content of all food items. But Nashville's health board agreed Thursday to postpone the mandate. The national health reform bill includes a similar provision to require restaurant chains with 20 or more locations to post calories on menus and menu boards. "We want to avoid making restaurants implement policy twice," said Dr. Bill Paul, director of the Metro Public Health Department. "(The federal policy) would achieve national uniformity but it is a federal law and it will take time to implement it." Though the Davidson County calorie counting measure hasn't been implemented, Nashville became the first Tennessee community to pass such a rule.