"It's not the cupcake's fault."

That's one of the 10 food rules the Center for Consumer Freedom posted on its Web site last week.

Or I could phrase it in a more Western-friendly, Second Amendment sort of way: Cupcakes don't make people fat. People make people fat.

Try telling that to someone in government who wants to tackle the epidemic of obesity.

One of those people is Utah Rep. Jim Matheson, who introduced a bill this week that would require large restaurant chains to post calories and 11 other nutritional facts about each menu item in a place where customers easily can see them. The law would apply only to companies that have at least 20 locations that serve prepared food, so as not to be a financial burden on small eateries. But really, why should we distinguish between large and small? The bill would add an extra burden on the large restaurants, too, which is hardly a good recipe at a time when the economy is suffering its own form of indigestion, made worse by the bloating of high taxes.

But the purpose of this column isn't to bash Matheson. Interestingly, the Utah Restaurant Association supports his bill, as do the heads of large restaurant chains. The reason for that is simple. Over the past five years or so, a lot of state and local governments have passed their own versions of restaurant full-disclosure laws. All Matheson's bill would do is set one uniform standard nationwide, which actually would be a blessing for large fast-food chains trying to comply with everyone's rules.

Nor am I opposed to information or full disclosure. I'm a fan of the Information Age, even if the ironic result is that we live with more information at our fingertips than ever before and yet are becoming increasingly more ignorant.

What I am opposed to are misguided and expensive government attempts to change human behavior, even attempts like this one, that started at the state and local level. If educated people are doing something bad for them, how is giving them more information going to change anything?

Or, put differently, does anyone really think a Six Dollar Burger at Carl's Jr. is going to help them lose weight?

It now has been 15 years since Washington mandated that all food at the grocery store come with nutrition labels. That's plenty of time to look at the results. You don't have too look too far. For many of you, a simple glance downward will do. Can you see your toes? If not, remember that people back then said grocery labels would help bring obesity under control, too.