By Ambrose Clancy

Tony Esposito had a quick question about the just-inked health care reform bill that, down in the fine print, requires restaurant chains to disclose the calorie counts of the food they serve.

“What genius thought of that? Obama?” Esposito asked, as he scraped crinkle-cut fries in a heap on the grill of his Nathan’s Famous franchise in Lake Ronkonkoma.

Presidential digs aside, Esposito admits the new regulations won’t cost his business much. The hot dog chain’s corporate offices in Jericho will pay for required signage, he said, meaning he’s only out those customers who can’t face the numbers.

That would not include Fred Kull of Centereach, for whom Esposito was loading a plate of two dogs and a pile of fries. When the signs arrive, they will inform Kull that lunch that day was 1,376 calories, more than half the recommended daily intake for a healthy male.

Kull tucked into his platter at a corner table and said between bites that he thought the legislation was good. “There are too many fat people,” he said. “We should know what we’re eating.”

And restaurants should bear some responsibility in educating customers, Kull said, adding that he has a metabolism that allows him to eat pretty much anything without piling on pounds.

“But my wife,” he said, “she struggles with weight.” 

You’re not alone, Mrs. Kull. According to the Nassau County Department of Health, nearly 20 percent of county residents are obese, with almost 40 percent characterized as overweight. Across New York State, the number of obese residents climbs to 22.2 percent.

“Obesity is an epidemic with rates tripling over the past three decades,” said Nancy Copperman, director of public health initiatives at North Shore LIJ Health Systems.

Although America’s obesity surge has stalled in the past five years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the numbers remain frightening. Almost 70 percent of Americans are too heavy, according to the CDCP, with a third of that number classified as obese.

As a result, both Nassau and Suffolk counties have passed calorie rules ahead of the new federal legislation, all of them based on a New York City law enacted in July 2008.

Nassau is set to require restaurant chains to post information beginning next week; Suffolk’s calorie law kicks in this October. But both laws will be superseded within the year by the federal legislation, which affects chains of 20 or more locations.

Although Congress battled with health care legislation for more than a year, the calorie provision was added without hoopla, in large part because the restaurant industry joined forces with public health professionals to call for mandatory posting.

The reason: With increasing numbers of local and state laws coming on the books, the restaurant industry is happy to see a single federal law it can comply with.

Sue Hensley, a spokeswoman for the National Restaurant Association, said her organization has been pushing for federal legislation for more than two years.

“It’s good for us and good for the health of the consumer,” she said. 

Maybe. A study last fall by a team from New York University and Yale found that New York City customers at fast food outlets ordered more meals with higher calories after counts were posted. A later study by New York City’s health department found posting calorie information helped people make healthier choices, but only in certain locations.

Copperman noted that education and income helps determine what people order when faced with calorie counts, with the more affluent and educated customer going lighter and the less educated and poorer customers staying with belly-busting choices.

She bemoaned the fact that the federal legislation doesn’t include funds for public education on the dangers of obesity, which includes increased levels of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

The local bills sailed through their respective legislatures, winning approval along party lines in Nassau and by a 17 to 1 vote in Suffolk County.

Nassau County Legislator Francis Becker, R-Lynbrook, said he viewed the bill as one more unfunded mandate that will cost businesses money.

“You can’t legislate good eating habits or good health,” Becker added. “Government wants to be the protector of everyone from the cradle to the grave, except when it comes to abortion, and then they want to kill you before you’re born.”

The politics don’t mean much to Antonio Tejada and his friend Jorge, who on a recent morning were doing damage to a Friendly’s Super Sizzlin’ Sausage Sunrise, with home fries, before catching a ride to work at a North Fork greenhouse.

Would calorie postings make them rethink their choice if the signs showed that breakfast was closing in on 1,000 calories?

“No, man,” Antonio said with a smile, spearing a piece of sausage. “We’re hungry and this is good food.”