Fast-Food 628466

So you're standing in line at your favorite fast-food chain and there are 3 people in front of you. You have a mental list of your order and then, suddenly, you are overcome with guilt. 'How many calories are really in chicken nuggets, a chocolate frosty and large fries?' You are blinded by a yellow flash of light and a guardian angel appears with a tiny badge that reads 'nutritionist'. She whispers to you that she can answer any and all nutritional questions you have. Could this be remotely possible?

Imagine that you had a way to instantaneously consult a food expert while you deliberated over your order at any food establishment. Would the information that the food expert provides actually change your food-order decision? Never mind that you got into your car, drove into the parking lot of the fast-food chain, and walked right up to the counter to order a typical bloated-feeling-inducing meal. If you had a dietary guardian angel, do you really think the caloric tally whispered into your ear would stop you from ordering the fatty, stomach-stretching mass of matter you craved?

Apparently the people at Diet.com think so. Their new text answer service is a favorite mobile tool for fast-food and chain restaurant aficionados, at least from the looks of the continually updated 'see what other[s]...are looking for' flash 'menu' at diet.com/mobile.

What does the person standing in line at McDonald's who takes the extra step of actually texting the phrase 'mcdonalds bigmac' to diet.com's shortcode, 34381.com (Diet1) in order to ascertain the calorie and fat content of the mega-burger hope to find out? That the USDA has suddenly discovered that they were wrong? That for decades nutritionists have carried the decimal place one place to the right too far and that the big mac actually is only 54 calories, not 540?

If you're actually bothering to check the calorie and fat count of a big mac, fries, chicken nuggets, big slam, cheeseburger, tacos or any of a slew of unhealthy food items that most people are texting to 34381, what does that make you? And what does it make you if you go ahead and order what you were planning on ordering despite the waistline-expanding calorie-details you 'ordered' via text message? Wouldn't you be better off not expending your texting energy and not incurring text message charges and instead leaving that food establishment to head towards a healthier set of food choices? Or not ending up at a fast-food restaurant in the first place? And if it all was just a 'fun' text query experience, is it better to be an informed fast-food junkie than a non-informed fast-food junkie? Wouldn't Diet.com be better off sending an automated text reply that reads, 'STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND WALK SLOWLY OUT OF THE LINE. CALMLY PUT YOUR WALLET AWAY AND SLOWLY PROCEED OUT OF THE RESTAURANT TO YOUR CAR. GO TO THE SUPERMARKET AND BUY RICE AND VEGGIES.'