McD’s Caters to Conn., N.J., N.Y. Dieters

CHICAGO McDonald’s is launching a regional in-restaurant promotional campaign in the New York tri-state area that points out how menu items can fit into various diets.

The Real Life Choices initiative, which will be supported with in-restaurant posters and brochures, was developed with dietician Pamela Smith. The program touts three menu categories for dieters, “Watching Calories,” “Watching Fat” and “Watching Carbohydrates,” and offers menu choices to fit those categories.

In the “Watching Calories” category (300 calories or less), for instance, a recommended breakfast item is an Egg McMuffin without butter or margarine. For dieters “Watching Fat,” the program suggests a Chicken McGrill Sandwich without mayonnaise.

“Eating at fast-food restaurants is a part of real-life for many, but people often think they can’t stay on track with their diets when they eat on the go,” said Smith in a statement. “I teamed up with McDonald’s to show consumers how to enjoy the McDonald’s foods they love without compromising their diets.”

The program is only running in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut McDonald’s restaurants. Though the effort fits under the Oak Brook, Ill., company’s “Healthy Lifestyles” initiative, it was undetermined whether the campaign will be expanded nationally.