City launches restaurant calorie watch website

Nutritional facts for top chain restaurants are available at a website launched by the city.

The health department unveiled MenuStat (menustat.org), a free website that tracks data from 66 restaurants and updates them on a frequent basis.

Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said New Yorkers can benefit from the site and develop more healthy diets.

"MenuStat is different from other nutrition information websites in that it provides 'time-stamped' nutritional information so users can assess changes over time, and it provides easy-to-use tools for comparisons and analysis," he said.

The information includes specific menu items and gives data on calories, sodium and other facts.

The city has developed different strategies to fight obesity in the Big Apple, including banning trans fats and posting calorie counts on menus.