Shanghai dietitians say more fast food restaurants in the city should follow McDonald's lead and provide nutritional information about their products to consumers.

Starting next year, McDonald's will list the number of calories, and amount of fat, protein, carbohydrates, and sodium in each of its products on their packages.

"The nutrition direction on the package will help consumers choose products according to their health condition," said Li Mingyue, a nutritionist at Shanghai Baosteel Hospital.

Fast food has been blamed in recent years for a rapid increase in obesity and other health problems in China.

McDonald's made the decision to print nutritional information on packages around the world in an attempt to build a better image in consumers' minds and prove that the food is healthy, said Gary Rosen, vice president of Mcdonald's China.

Its main competitor, KFC, says it is trying to improve its reputation by running ads suggesting its food is healthy and offering nutritionally balanced set meals containing a salad this month.

The company would provide nutritional information about its food, however, saying it has never released that information on the mainland.

McDonald's says its spicy chicken burger contains 553 calories and 28 grams of fat — 11 percent of the fat an adult needs everyday. Its medium sized French fries contain 338 calories and 17 grams of fat, according to the company's Website.

Some parents in the city say the information will help them better choose food for their children.

"I think I'll choose the more healthy products for my son according to the information on the new package," said Ma Yudshuang, whose 8-year-old eats at McDonald's almost every week.

Many other consumers, however, said they don't really care how many calories are in their Big Mac.

"That makes no difference. The products don't change anyway," said Cheng Tianyi, who has been Mcdonald's fan for years. He also said that even if the new package shows a high amount of calories in a burger and fries, he will keep eating them.

(Shanghai Daily November 2, 2005)