WASHINGTON – Women are more likely than men to use the nutritional information posted in chain restaurants, according to a study by a University of Maryland Extension program.

Age also makes a difference, the study found. Among those 18 to 24 years old, not one said they even looked at the nutritional information.

Overall, one-third of those asked said they check the calorie and nutrition content on the menu, according to the study.

Montgomery County passed a law in 2009 requiring chain restaurants to make the calorie and nutritional information of their food available to customers.

The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program surveyed customers in 23 restaurants in communities throughout the county to gauge the effectiveness of the three-year-old law, which took effect in 2010.

Some customers outside a McDonald’s in Rockville told WTOP’s Kate Ryan that taste was more important than calories and that if they wanted to eat healthier fare, they would eat elsewhere.

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