Since I've joined Weight Watchers I've been more and more aware of what I put in my pie hole, and as such I spend a lot of time checking out the nutritional information of the food that I eat. Thanks to Weight Watchers web site and the ultimate non-official Weight Watcher's site Dotti's Weight Loss Zone, getting this information is easy. I can put a number on everything I eat.

Well, almost.

While a ton of restaurants provide the nutritional content of their food, many do not. This is an outrage. With the obesity epidemic in this country, it's shameful that some restaurants refuse to disclose this information.

What can we do about it? Tons. Complain! I sent the following email to Bertucci's yesterday following an unsuccessful attempt to find out the nutritional information of their menu. I also sent it to the Consumerist (which gets over 10,000 hits a day) and they posted it.

How to make a difference? Do something.

Dear Bertuccis,

While I understand the cost that goes into preparing nutritional content for your menu, I think that it would be money well spent.

Obesity in this country has become an epidemic and restaurants are partly to blame. Certainly consumers are responsible for what they eat, but it’s difficult to manage this when restaurants like yourselves neglect to post your nutritional information.

I have read on this site that you suggest that customers inquire with the local restaurants for a list of ingredients as each meal is prepared fresh daily. I have found that the menu at every Bertuccis is exactly the same, and would hazzard to assume that the main ingredients are basically the same.

Given this, I don’t believe that it would be a financial hardship for Bertuccis to compile and provide this information, and you would be doing your part, as a restaurant, to allow your patrons to make educated decisions about what they consume.

Thank you for your time.